WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – A tsunami that prompted a warning to stay off Whatcom County beaches didn’t produce much of a wave here but was more pronounced in other parts of the west coast.
Whatcom County Emergency Management reports the Cherry Point tidal gauge detected tsunami waves of between 3 and 4 inches Saturday afternoon, January 15th.
But the Seattle Times reports Neah Bay and other areas on the Pacific Coast and Strait of Juan de Fuca saw waves of about a foot.
Waves three to four feet caused some flooding and swamped boats in California and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
The tsunami was generated by an erupting underwater volcano near the Pacific island nation of Tonga.