Tsunami — Orange County Coastal, California

2022-01-15 · Orange County Coastal, California

Event narrative

A Tsunami Advisory was issued at 5:03 AM for the Orange County Coast. Orange County did Wireless Emergency Alerts and activated sirens. The first tsunami wave arrived around 8 AM. Damage was reported across the coast, including a buoy reported to be broken off and drifting away off of Huntington Bay.

Wider weather episode

An underwater volcano near Tonga erupted on January 15, 2022 which produced a tsunami to travel across the Pacific Ocean. An information statement was issued at 3:25 AM PST, and the first advisory and statement was issued at 4:56 AM PST. A Tsunami advisory was issued for the San Diego County and Orange County Coast at 5:03 AM, mentioning the threat for a tsunami capable of producing strong currents and waves of 1 to 2 feet, but widespread inundation was not expected. The tsunami was expected to arrive several moments before 8 AM PST. Strong currents, rising tides, tsunami waves and minor damage was reported across the coast through the day.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1002627. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.