Powerful tsunami waves travel across Pacific after 8.8-magnitude earthquake

WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS. WE BEGIN WITH A LIVE LOOK AT SEATTLE TONIGHT, WHERE OFFICIALS ARE LOOKING OUT FOR A POSSIBLE SET OF TSUNAMI WAVES THAT COULD ARRIVE WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR. THE TSUNAMI WAS TRIGGERED BY A MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE IN RUSSIA THAT HAS PLACED MUCH OF THE WEST COAST OF THE U.S. UNDER A TSUNAMI ADVISORY TONIGHT AND PART OF THE COAST UNDER A WARNING. WELL, HERE’S A LIVE LOOK AT CRESCENT CITY HARBOR. THIS IS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHERE THIS PARTICULAR STRETCH OF COASTLINE IS UNDER A TSUNAMI WARNING. NOW, THAT WARNING RUNS BETWEEN QANTAS MENDOCINO UP NORTHWARD TO THE OREGON STATE LINE. CRESCENT CITY IS ONE OF THE FIRST AREAS IN OUR STATE THAT COULD BE HIT BY THE WAVE. JUST AROUND 1150 TONIGHT, JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT AND EVACUATION WARNING WAS ISSUED FOR AN RV PARK IN THAT AREA THAT SITS RIGHT ON THE COAST. AND PEOPLE ARE NOW BEING ADVISED JUST TO AVOID THE BEACHES AND THE WATERWAYS, JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE. GOOD EVENING. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US AT 11. I’M GULSTAN DART AND I’M EDIE LAMBERT. TONIGHT WE’RE GETTING OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE DAMAGE IN RUSSIA. THIS IS DRONE VIDEO IN KAMCHATKA, AND YOU CAN SEE A LARGE SECTION OF THAT COMMUNITY IS NOW UNDER WATER. THIS OF COURSE CLOSEST TO THAT 8.8 QUAKE. THAT WAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD ON RECORD. IT WAS THEN FOLLOWED BY A NUMBER OF STRONG AFTERSHOCKS. THE WAVES HERE, SAID TO BE 10 TO 12FT. PEOPLE DID HAVE SOME WARNING, AND PEOPLE IN THIS REGION WERE ABLE TO GET TO HIGHER GROUND, WE’RE TOLD. HERE’S A LIVE LOOK AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM, AND YOU CAN SEE MUCH OF THE WEST COAST IS IN ORANGE UNDER WHAT’S KNOWN AS A TSUNAMI ADVISORY. BUT A STRETCH OF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COAST, AGAIN, IS UNDER A WARNING RIGHT NOW. AND JUST TO REITERATE, THAT’S BETWEEN CAPE MENDOCINO AND THE OREGON STATE LINE. THE WAVE ALREADY HIT JAPAN’S LARGE NORTHERN ISLAND OF HOKKAIDO. THE JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY SAID THAT A FIRST TSUNAMI WAVE WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND ONE FOOT. THE LARGEST WE’VE SEEN RECORDED NOW ABOUT TWO FEET, AND THEY HAVE NOT REPORTED ANY DAMAGE. SO THEY WERE BRACING FOR SOMETHING STRONGER. OF COURSE, THEY WOULD STILL BE ON THE LOOKOUT. PEOPLE WILL BE WATCHING FOR ABOUT THE NEXT DAY TO SEE WHAT MAY BE COMING THEIR WAY, BUT SO FAR IT’S BEEN PRETTY GOOD NEWS FOR JAPAN. WE CAN ALSO SHOW YOU THE SCENE FROM HAWAII. THIS WAS ABOUT 45 MINUTES AGO WHEN THOSE WAVES WERE EXPECTED TO HIT. YOU CAN SEE SOME PEOPLE ON THE BEACH. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE. WE ARE TOLD THAT MUCH OF WAIKIKI IS JUST A GHOST TOWN RIGHT NOW. PEOPLE HEEDING THE WARNINGS, LISTENING TO THOSE TSUNAMI SIRENS GOING OFF AND GETTING TO HIGHER GROUND, OR TO THE UPPER STORIES OF THE HIGH RISE BUILDINGS THERE AND CONDOS. NOW, WE DID SEE SOME WHITECAPS. THAT’S PRETTY NORMAL IN THIS AREA. WE HAVE NOT SEEN SIGNIFICANT WAVES. WE CAN ALSO SHOW YOU THE SCENE THOUGH EARLIER TONIGHT. AND YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE WERE TAKING THE WARNINGS SERIOUSLY. RESIDENTS AND TOURISTS ALIKE HEADING FOR HIGHER GROUND. THERE WERE SIRENS BLARING AT DIFFERENT INTERVALS, SO THE THREE HOUR MARK, THE TWO HOUR MARK, ONE HOUR 30 MINUTES. PEOPLE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO GET TO HIGHER GROUND, BUT AGAIN, IT DID CAUSE SOME GRIDLOCK IN HONOLULU AS PEOPLE WERE RUSHING OUT TO SAFETY. WE CAN ALSO TELL YOU THE NATIONAL GUARD IN HAWAII POSITIONED TROOPS AND EQUIPMENT TO HELP IF THE WAVES DO TURN OUT TO BE DAMAGING. YEAH, TRAFFIC ALREADY PRETTY BRUTAL IN HONOLULU. SO EVEN DURING NORMAL TIMES, EVEN WORSE ON OCCASION LIKE THIS. WELL, LET’S GO TO KCRA 3 METEOROLOGIST. HEATHER WALDMAN TALKING US THROUGH WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. YOU KNOW, WE WERE LOOKING FOR THOSE. AN EVENT AROUND, I DON’T KNOW, 1017 OUR TIME. WE REALLY HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING THERE IN HAWAII, HEATHER, YET. BUT KEEP IN MIND JUST THE UNCERTAINTY THAT COMES WITH PREDICTING, FIRST OF ALL, WHETHER OR NOT A TSUNAMI WILL OCCUR, WHEN IT WILL OCCUR, AND HOW INTENSE IT WILL BE. THE PACIFIC OCEAN IS ENORMOUS. THE ONLY WAY THAT SCIENTISTS HAVE TO MONITOR A POSSIBLE TSUNAMI IS EITHER BUOYS OR OBSERVATIONS FROM, LIKE WHAT WE SAW ON THE RUSSIAN COAST CLOSE TO WHERE THE EARTHQUAKE STRUCK. I’M GOING TO SHOW YOU A GAUGE FROM A SET OF ISLANDS TO THE NORTHWEST OF HAWAII HERE IN JUST A MOMENT. BUT FIRST, LET’S START OFF WITH JUST THE NUMBER OF AFTERSHOCKS THAT WE’VE SEEN SINCE THAT INITIAL EARTHQUAKE. AT ABOUT 430 OUR TIME, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE ICONS, THAT’S THE BUOY SYSTEM, THAT THAT’S THE INDICATION THAT AN EARTHQUAKE IS BEING REGISTERED. AND MANY OF THESE EARTHQUAKES, MORE THAN A 5.0 MAGNITUDE. SO ON THEIR OWN, QUITE STRONG. BUT EVEN AS AFTERSHOCKS STILL QUITE POWERFUL, WE’VE BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON HAWAII. OF COURSE, INITIALLY, THE FIRST SURGE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SET OF TSUNAMI WAVES WAS EXPECTED AROUND THE NORTH COAST OF OAHU AROUND 10:17 P.M. WE’VE BEEN WATCHING A LOT OF THE CAMERAS IN THE AREA, AND TO THE NAKED EYE, IT COULD BE TOUGH FOR US TO DISCERN, BUT REMEMBER, THESE ARE COMING IN WAVES AND I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO THIS IS A GAUGE READING FROM THE MIDWAY ISLANDS. IT’S ABOUT 1300 MILES TO THE NORTHWEST OF HAWAII. WE KNOW THAT OFFICIALS ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WERE USING THIS AS KIND OF A BELLWETHER FOR THEM. THIS COULD REFLECT WHAT THEY WOULD EXPECT IN HAWAII. A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER. BUT WHAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS THAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT WAVES. IT’S NOT ONE BIG GIANT WAVE THAT CRASHES IN. IT’S DIFFERENT SURGES OF WAVES. SO HERE’S ONE, TWO. AND THEN NOTICE HOW EACH OF THESE NEXT FEW SURGES GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER UNTIL THINGS WIND DOWN ANY BODY OF WATER. YOU CAN KIND OF THINK OF IT LIKE A BATHTUB. THE EARTHQUAKE DISPLACED THE WATER IN ONE DIRECTION. IT’S GOING TO SLOSH BACK AND FORTH FOR HOURS AS WE GO THROUGH TONIGHT AND INTO THE DAY TOMORROW. SO A TSUNAMI ADVISORY STILL IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE CALIFORNIA COAST. BUT KEEP IN MIND, IF YOU’RE WATCHING FROM, YOU KNOW, THE SACRAMENTO DELTA, WE ARE NOT EXPECTING IMPACTS THERE. SO ISLETON RIO VISTA IT’S GOING TO BE JUST FINE. THE IMMEDIATE COASTLINE HERE AROUND SAN FRANCISCO MAY SEE A SURGE OF LESS THAN A FOOT, AND THAT WOULD BE IN ABOUT ANOTHER HOUR OR SO. HERE’S THAT TSUNAMI WARNING, WITH THE BIGGEST CONCERN BEING AROUND CRESCENT CITY AND THE COAST OF DEL NORTE COUNTY. HUMBOLDT COUNTY COULD STILL SEE A SURGE OF ABOUT 1 TO 2FT AS THE WAVES COME IN. BUT THAT MOST SIGNIFICANT SURGE, AGAIN EXPECTED AROUND CRESCENT CITY. AS EDDIE MENTIONED, IT’S BECAUSE OF THE SHAPE OF THE COASTLINE IN THAT AREA. SO, SO FAR RELATIVELY QUIET IN HAWAII. BUT OF COURSE WE’RE GOING TO KEEP WATCHING THAT FOR YOU TONIGHT. BACK TO YOU, HEATHER. THANK YOU. AND LIVECOPTER3 FLEW OVER THE PORT OF WEST SACRAMENTO EARLIER TONIGHT. WE CHECKED WITH OFFICIALS THERE AND AT THE PORT OF STOCKTON, THEY BOTH TELL US THEY WERE NOT EXPECTING ANY IMPACT FROM THE TSUNAMI THERE. AS HEATHER WAS EXPLAINING, NO IMPACT EXPECTED THIS FAR INLAND. HERE’S A LOOK AT THE SCENE EARLIER IN SANTA CRUZ TODAY WHERE THE WAVE COULD HIT SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT. BOAT OWNERS THERE HAVE BEEN WARNED TO GET THEIR VESSELS OUT OF THE WATER AHEAD OF THE POSSIBLE TSUNAMI TO AVOID ANY POSSIBLE DAMAGE TO THEIR WATERCRAFT. AND WE’RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE STORY AS IT CONTINUES TO UNFOLD, LITERALLY IN WAVES. WE ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST, AND WE’LL HAVE ANY NEW INFORMATION COMING UP L