Community Corner

Coastal Tsunami Threat: A Reminder For San Clemente Residents

Early Thursday an 8.2 magnitude quake struck the Aleutian Islands in Alaska causing a ripple effect through California's oceanfront towns.

Early Thursday an 8.2 magnitude quake struck the Aleutian Islands in Alaska causing a ripple effect through California's oceanfront towns.
Early Thursday an 8.2 magnitude quake struck the Aleutian Islands in Alaska causing a ripple effect through California's oceanfront towns. (Courtney Teague/Patch)

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — Early Thursday, four hours after the 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off of the coast of Alaska near a remote island called Perryville, Alaska, the National Weather Service declared there was no possibility of a tsunami along the Southern California coastline.

No one was reported injured from the quake.

The Southern California coastline has the all-clear of any possible tsunami activity Thursday. However, the National Weather Service did advise that "stronger than normal currents were possible in all harbors and bays later this morning."

Find out what's happening in San Clementefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In Orange County, residents of coastal towns should sign up for www.AlertOC.com for updates on tsunami warnings, evacuations, fire and other important localized emergency messages.

In San Clemente, and across Orange County, below are the updated tsunami hazard maps.

Find out what's happening in San Clementefor free with the latest updates from Patch.


When a tsunami originates, waves travel outward in all directions, according to the emergency website www.Ready.gov. Once the wave approaches the shore, it builds in height depending on the coastline's topography and the ocean floor. More than one wave may generate, and the succeeding one may be larger than the one before, explaining why a small tsunami at one beach can be a giant wave a few miles away, officials explain.

In Alaska, the quake struck at 11:15 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday about 50 miles southeast of Perryville on the Alaskan Peninsula at a shallow depth of 29 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and Alaska Earthquake Center.

The earthquake was felt throughout the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak, the Alaska Earthquake Center said.

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