Higher waves reach California after major Pacific quake

By Livia Albeck-Ripka, Francesca Regalado, Martin Fackler, John Keefe, Jesús Jiménez, Shawn Hubler and Lauren Rosenhall

Coastal surges hit California on Wednesday morning after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded, prompted tsunami warnings and evacuations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties, however, and officials in Hawaii, parts of Southern California and some Pacific nations eased their warnings hours after the first waves hit.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday morning that coastal areas of Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange and Ventura counties were no longer under a tsunami advisory. And across much of the Pacific, the destructive tsunami waves that had been feared did not immediately materialize.

Hawaii downgraded its tsunami warning, as did Japan, while the Philippines canceled a tsunami advisory, saying that “no significant sea level disturbances nor destructive tsunami waves” had been recorded.

But coastal areas farther north of Los Angeles, including Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, remained under a tsunami advisory. And to the south, Mexico’s tsunami warning center urged people to stay away from beaches because of “strong and unusual currents.” About 10 hours after the quake, Chile declared a “red alert,” its most severe warning, for much of its coastline.

Experts said the earthquake, which struck off Russia’s Far East early Wednesday, could be the sixth largest on record, and forecasters warned that the first waves to arrive may not be the largest.

Here’s what to know:

— Fast-moving waves: Tsunamis can travel more than 500 mph in deep water, crossing an ocean in less than a day. Despite their portrayals in Hollywood films, tsunamis are not tall, curling walls of water. They look more like sudden floods, crashing ashore in successive waves that build in height.

— Hawaii downgrades risk: The first waves began to reach Hawaii at 7:24 p.m. Tuesday, peaking at nearly 6 feet higher than normal. Hours later, the state’s tsunami warning was downgraded to an advisory, meaning there could be dangerous currents but not necessarily further widespread flooding. Officials said many people who had evacuated could return home.

— Flooding in Russia: The closest region to the quake’s epicenter was the remote Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia. Some exposed cliffs collapsed into the sea, buildings shook, and some coastal buildings were flooded. The facade of a kindergarten in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky collapsed after the quake, but officials said that evacuations in the sparsely populated area had been successful.

— Other regions: In Japan, workers fled low-lying parts of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was wrecked by a tsunami in 2011. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System also issued alerts for a swath of Pacific nations, including Peru, Chile and Costa Rica.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.