BC tsunami advisory lifted

UPDATE  –   Provincial Emergency Program confirms tsunami advisory for the BC coast is now over.

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A tsunami advisory is in effect for the west coast of North America, including parts of BC, but it does not affect Vancouver.

Places on the watch list include parts of Vancouver Island, and BC’s north and central coast. Waves up to a metre high are expected to roll onto Tofino’s beaches. It is a low-level advisory.

The Provincial Emergency Program says the first waves hit around 7 a.m. But PEP’s Kelly Kryzanowski says the first wave isn’t always the biggest. She expects the advisory to remain in effect until at least noon.

“Then we will expect that West Coast/Alaska tsunami warning centre will begin to hopefully issue is a stand-down notification,” she says.

For people in affected areas, like Deb in Port Alberni, these kind of warnings are nothing new.

“We’ve had so many false alarms, like the Sri Lanka one, we were supposed to get a big one, and everyone was heading for dry land and packing up things that were important to them,” she tells us. “But nothing comes, so we don’t get too excited about it.”

The Coast Guard in Victoria says their boats in affected parts have been advised to head away from the shore just to be on the safe side. The Coast Guard reiterates we are not preparing for a full-on tsunami — just a noticeable change in water level.

Stay tuned to News1130 for the absolute latest on this situation and constant updates.

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