Chile earthquake and tsunami pose no threat to California, but Hawaii?
Chile earthquake: The continental US faces no tsunami threat after a massive earthquake off the coast of Chile, but the danger to Hawaii is still under evaluation, say officials.
A magnitude 8.2 earthquake off the coast of Chile (red dot, bottom right) caused a small tsunami locally but poses no threat to the west coast of the continental US, say officials. They are still investigating any potential threat to Hawaii.
Courtesy of USGS, Google Maps
LOS ANGELES
US officials say they've found no threat of a tsunami along the coasts of Alaska, California, Oregon, or Washington after a major earthquake near Chile, but the danger to Hawaii is still under evaluation.
Bill Knight, a scientist at the National Tsunami Warning Center, says early data show that by the time waves generated by Tuesday night's magnitude-8.2 quake reach the West Coast, they'll be too small to pose any threat.
Hawaii faces greater potential danger, but analysts are still assessing the threat and no warning has been issued. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says if tsunami waves are generated, the earliest they'd hit Hawaii is 3:24 a.m. Wednesday Hawaii Standard Time.
Chilean authorities ordered an evacuation of coastal areas there in case of a tsunami.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.