No tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi following a preliminary magnitude 7+ earthquake in Northern California

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaiʻi based on all available data following a 7.0 (preliminary magnitude 7.3) magnitude earthquake reported at 8:44 a.m. HST (10:44 a.m. PST near the epicenter) on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports there is a tsunami threat for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake, including areas within 300 km of the epicenter.

At 10:49 a.m. PST (8:49 a.m. HST), the National Tsunami Warning Center advised that a tsunami warning was in effect for

• The coast from Davenport, California (10 miles NW of Santa Cruz) to The Oregon/Cal. Border including San Francisco Bay
• The coast from the Oregon/California border to Douglas/Lane Line, Oregon (10 miles SW of Florence)

The tsunami warning was later cancelled at 11:54 a.m. PST by the National Tsunami Warning Center. The NTWC reports no destructive tsunami has been recorded and no tsunami danger exists for the US west coast, British Columbia and Alaska.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center explains that a tsunami is a series of waves with the time between wave crests varying from 5 minutes to an hour. The PTWC notes that the hazard may persist for many hours or longer after an initial wave. “Impacts can vary significantly from one section of coast to the next due to local bathymetry and the shape and elevation of the shoreline,” the PTWC explains.

The USGS reports the location of the quake with respect to nearby cities includes the following:

• 61.6 miles WSW of Ferndale, California
• 67.4 miles WSW of Fortuna, California
• 72.5 miles WSW of Eureka, California
• 78.4 miles WSW of Arcata, California
• 238.5 miles WNW of Sacramento, California

According to the USGS “Did You Feel It?” website, felt reports were filed in various parts of northern California including Sunnyvale, Bulingame, Redwood City, and South SanFrancisco.

This post will be updated with further information as it becomes available.