President Obama on Saturday warned West Coast residents to be prepared
for "dangerous waves and currents," as government officials prepared for a
tsunami to hit Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa.
"Once again, we’ve been reminded of the awful devastation that can come at a moment’s notice," Obama said. "We can’t control nature, but we can and must be prepared for disaster when it strikes."
Jennifer Rhodes, tsunami programming manager with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said in a CNN interview that in addition to the tsunami warning issued for Hawaii, the
government had issued a lower-grade tsunami advisory for California, Alaska and
the rest of the West Coast.
“We are expecting to see very significant currents in the
area, very turbulent waters in bays and harbors,’’ she said. She warned people
to be aware that a tsunami is not a single large wave, but a series of waves —
often arriving an hour or more apart — and that the first wave is not always
the largest.
“So it is important to move to higher ground, get off the
beach and to remain in a safe location,’’ she said, urging people to move
location by foot to leave highways free for emergency vehicles.
Los Angeles County fire officials said they were not warning people to
stay off beaches because they did not expect waves to rise more than 3
feet.
The advisory was issued after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, Chile, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
— Janet Hook reporting from Washington
Graphic: The map shows estimated arrival times Saturday of the
minor tsunami, according to predictions issued by the National Weather
Service. Credit: Rong-Gong Lin II / Los Angeles Times
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L.A. County fire officials expect waves from Chile quake to top at 3 feet; no warning to be issued