A tsunami advisory was canceled Thursday for the Southland coastline, with authorities saying there was no further danger but that some areas may continue to experience small sea level change and unusual currents.
The advisory had been issued by the National Weather Service amid concerns about waves generated by a huge earthquake in Chile on Wednesday.
The NWS warned of the possibility of strong currents that could prove “hazardous to swimmers, boats and coastal structures.”
Emergency crews were on alert overnight, but local command posts were deactivated after the initial tsunami waves to strike the Southland turned out to be small — under a foot.
The Los Angeles Fire Department’s unified command post with city law enforcement, which became operational about 3:30 a.m. at Angels Gate Park in San Pedro, was deactivated after daybreak.
The Orange County Emergency Operations Center’s public information hotline was deactivated about 7 a.m., according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
About 6 a.m., all beaches, harbors, piers, and marinas in Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and San Clemente — including county and state beaches in Orange County — were reopened following several hours of closure, the sheriff’s department reported. No beach closures were ordered in Los Angeles County. The earthquake that triggered the high-wave threats struck off the coast of central Chile at 3:55 p.m. Wednesday and had a preliminary magnitude of 8.3.
—City News Service