Tsunami advisories cancelled for coastal B.C. areas following volcanic eruption

The National Tsunami Warning Center's advisory cautioning of potential strong currents and waves has been cancelled for all zones in coastal British Columbia.

The advisory issued Saturday morning followed a volcanic eruption in the Pacific Basin near the Tonga Islands.

It is no longer in effect for Zone A, which covers the north coast and Haida Gwaii, or Zone B, which includes the central coast and northeast Vancouver Island, including Kitimat, Bella Coola and Port Hardy.

The two other areas the advisory covered were the outer west coast of Vancouver Island from Cape Scott to Port Renfrew, dubbed Zone C, as well as Zone D, which spans the Juan de Fuca Strait from Jordan River to Greater Victoria, including the Saanich Peninsula.

Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the risk was limited to increased tidal currents, and residents in areas that were at risk were asked to stay away from beaches, shorelines and marinas and follow local government guidance until the advisory was lifted.

He says several communities along the coast activated their emergency plans overnight.

"Emergency Management B.C. immediately activated the Provincial Emergency Co-ordination Centre, and all provincial regional operations centres on the coast,'' he said in a press release.

"The agency has also been supporting local governments and First Nations with updates and a series of co-ordination calls."

Two emergency notification alerts have been issued to emergency managers, and local communities are informing residents as per their emergency protocols for an advisory of this type, Farnworth said.

"Although this is not a tsunami warning, this event demonstrates that coastal warning systems do work."

Wave heights 35 centimetres

Sylvan Daugert, co-fire chief in the village of Massett, B.C., said he received just one of the two public alerts sent to residents shortly after the centre issued its bulletins.

"So that's disappointing," he said.

But Daugert, who is also the public works superintendent in the village, said he is less concerned than he was initially after learning that wave heights in Alaska reached 35 centimetres or less.

The U.S. National Weather Service confirmed that a tsunami has been generated by the eruption and issued warnings for several western coastal areas, including Alaska and B.C.

The National Tsunami Warning Center also issued advisories for the coast of California to the Mexican border and the coasts of Oregon and Washington and the Aleutian Islands.