The British Columbia government canceled a tsunami notice that was issued after a massive submarine earthquake hit on the coast of Russia, one of the strongest ever registered.
The notice initially said that Tsunami waves were expected to reach Tofino, BC, around 11:30 pm PT on Tuesday. The earthquake received a preliminary magnitude of 8.8.
During the night, the Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration of the United States said the waves were higher in BC on Langara Island, at the northern end of Haida Gwaii, 27 centimeters.
They were 21 centimeters in Tofino.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Preparation issued a bulletin on Wednesday morning saying that the province was standing for its operations center.
“There are no areas of the coast of British Columbia at risk. Repeat, there are no areas of British coastal columbia,” said the 6:25 am bulletin
While the notice was in place, British Colombians were urged to stay away from the coast.
The Tofino district had closed beaches and the Emergency Information Agency of the province warned of strong waves and currents.
A tsunami notice for multiple parts of the BC coast was canceled early Wednesday after a large earthquake in the Pacific basin near Russia on Tuesday.
The earthquake hit just before 4:25 PM PT on Tuesday, about 119 kilometers east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city of about 180,000 residents in the Kamchatka region of Russia.
The preliminary magnitude of 8.8 would make it the strongest earthquake in the world since 2011, and one of the 10 most powerful recorded since 1900, according to the United States geological service.
Signs that alert people about Tsunami’s notice now canceled had been published in Wickaninnish Beach in Pacific Rim National Park, southeast of Tofino, but people continued to take the sunset on Tuesday, although the parking lot was mostly empty.
The JX Surf Shop Campground campers between Tofino and Ucluelet on the island of Vancouver were glued to their phones on Tuesday night looking for news about the Tsunami, but most campers seemed to stay.
Beyond BC, the earthquake sent tsunami waves to Japan, Hawaii and the west coast of the United States.
Several people were injured, but no seriously, and so far no important damage has been reported.
The authorities warned that the risk of the earthquake could last hours, and millions of people potentially on the way of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or look for land.
The worst seemed to have happened to many areas, including the United States, Japan and the affected parts of Russia. But Chile raised its Tsunami warning to the highest level during the majority of its long Pacific coast and said it evacuated hundreds of people.
Immediately after the earthquake of the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, the residents fled inside when the ports flooded, and several were injured while they rushed to leave buildings.
