By Canadian Press

Tsunami advisories issued for parts of coastal British Columbia

Jan 15, 2022 | 10:35 AM

The National Tsunami Warning Center says advisories cautioning of potential strong currents and waves are expected to be in place across much of coastal British Columbia for the next several hours.

The advisory issued Saturday morning covers four zones in B.C. following a volcanic eruption in the Pacific Basin near the Tonga Islands.

Zone A covers the north coast including Haida Gwaii, while Zone B covers the central and northeast Vancouver Island coasts, which include Kitimat, Bella Coola and Port Hardy.

The advisory also applies to the outer west coast of Vancouver Island from Cape Scott to Port Renfrew, dubbed Zone C, as well as Zone D, which spans the Juan de Fuca Strait from Jordan River to Greater Victoria including the Saanich Peninsula.

Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the risk is limited to increased tidal currents and residents should stay away from beaches, shorelines and marinas and follow local government guidance until the advisory is lifted.

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He says several communities along the coast activated their emergency plans overnight, Farnworth said.

“Emergency Management BC immediately activated the Provincial Emergency Co-ordination Centre, and all provincial regional operations centres on the coast,” he said in a release. “The agency has also been supporting local governments and First Nations with updates and a series of co-ordination calls.”

Two emergency notification alerts have been issued to emergency managers and local communities are informing residents as per their emergency protocols for an advisory of this type, Farnworth said.

“Although this is not a tsunami warning, this event demonstrates that coastal warning systems do work.”

Sylvan Daugert, co-fire chief in the village of Massett, B.C. said he received just one of the two public alerts sent to residents shortly after the center issued its bulletins.

“So that’s disappointing,” he said.

But Daugert, who is also the public works superintendent in the village, said he is less concerned than he was initially after learning that wave heights in Alaska reached 35 centimetres or less.

The U.S. National Weather Service confirmed that a tsunami has been generated by the eruption and issued warnings for several western coastal areas, including Alaska and B.C.

The National Tsunami Warning Center also issued advisories for the coast of California to the Mexican border and the coasts of Oregon and Washington and the Aleutian Islands.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2022.

The Canadian Press