Laguna Beach Residents Warned To Stay Off Beaches Due To Tsunami

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Authorities were warning Laguna Beach residents to stay off the beach as tsunami activity triggered by an underwater volcano eruption in the South Pacific hit the California coast Saturday.

Many Laguna Beach residents awoke to the sound of a helicopter issuing orders to clear the beach Saturday morning. The beach closure was a precaution taken as one-t0-two-foot waves rolled in around 8 a.m.

By Saturday evening, there was no damage and no injuries reported in Laguna Beach as a result of the tsunami activity.

All beaches in Orange County and many beaches and piers in Los Angeles County were temporarily closed, but no evacuation orders were in place. Larger than normal waves were expected throughout the day Saturday in Laguna Beach.

People were advised to move off the beach and out of the harbors and marinas, avoid the coastline and not to go to the coast to watch the tsunami activity.

In Laguna Beach, authorities taped off beach access points as crowds emerged to wage the tsunami.

SEE ALSO: Tsunami Advisory Issued For California Coast After Volcano Erupts

Low-lying beach areas in Orange County facing risk of flooding such as Seal Beach were closed to visitors as a precaution. Waves capable of producing strong currents hazardous to swimmers, boats, and coastal structures were expected to arrive starting at 7:50 a.m. Wave heights of 1 to 2 feet were expected. The NWS said at 7:05 a.m. that there were "no significant concerns about inundation."

"Seeing some surges on the Port San Luis tsunami gauge. Reporting up to a 24 cm residual so far. That's 9.4 inches or about 19 inches from the bottom and top of the residual," the National Weather Service's Los Angeles office tweeted at 8:08 a.m.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, near Tonga, erupted late Friday. A tsunami hit Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, according to CNN, which reported that waves were flooding the capital.

Seismologist Lucy Jones, founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, said the expected short-term increase of 1-3 feet in sea level would only be an issue near the beach.

"Tsunamis are not one wave. It's more like sloshing and that sloshing can continue for a day. Just because the first wave has passed, it is not time to go see the beach," Jones tweeted, adding that "much tsunami damage happens in ports because of the currents. Moving water has huge momentum."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.