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Major Quake Strikes Off Coast of Northern California
Tsunami Warning in Effect
CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (June 15) - A major earthquake struck Tuesday night about 80 miles off the coast of northern California, prompting a tsunami warning along the Pacific coast.
The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at about 7:50 p.m. southwest of the coastal community of Crescent City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site.
A tsunami warning was in effect from the California-Mexico border north to Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
KCBS radio reported that residents were being evacuated from low-lying areas of Crescent City, which was struck by a tsunami after an earthquake four decades ago.
Stuart Weinstein, a geologist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said that if a tsunami were generated, it would not be as strong as the Dec. 26 killer wave in the Indian Ocean.
''We're not expecting anything huge from an event this size,'' added Charles McCreery, the center's director.
Scientists were waiting for signs of any powerful ocean waves to reach tide gauges placed up and down the West Coast, Weinstein said.
''We're monitoring our sea gauges pretty carefully,'' he said.
In the spring of 1963, a magnitude-8.4 quake in Alaska generated tsunamis that caused damage there and in British Columbia, and in the states of Washington, California and Hawaii. More than 120 died.
Hardest hit was Crescent City, where 11 people were killed after waves reaching as much as 20 feet destroyed half of the waterfront business district.
Tsunami Warning in Effect
CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (June 15) - A major earthquake struck Tuesday night about 80 miles off the coast of northern California, prompting a tsunami warning along the Pacific coast.
The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at about 7:50 p.m. southwest of the coastal community of Crescent City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site.
A tsunami warning was in effect from the California-Mexico border north to Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
KCBS radio reported that residents were being evacuated from low-lying areas of Crescent City, which was struck by a tsunami after an earthquake four decades ago.
Stuart Weinstein, a geologist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, said that if a tsunami were generated, it would not be as strong as the Dec. 26 killer wave in the Indian Ocean.
''We're not expecting anything huge from an event this size,'' added Charles McCreery, the center's director.
Scientists were waiting for signs of any powerful ocean waves to reach tide gauges placed up and down the West Coast, Weinstein said.
''We're monitoring our sea gauges pretty carefully,'' he said.
In the spring of 1963, a magnitude-8.4 quake in Alaska generated tsunamis that caused damage there and in British Columbia, and in the states of Washington, California and Hawaii. More than 120 died.
Hardest hit was Crescent City, where 11 people were killed after waves reaching as much as 20 feet destroyed half of the waterfront business district.
