Final Update
The tsunami continues to wash up and down the inlet and river.
I have created a YouTube video compiling the videos I recorded last night with the first three waves.
But the Tsunami did not stop there. The tide gauge at the harbour (bottom of Bruce St) shows the currents have been active all morning.
I would not swim or go into the water at all today until things settle down and the Advisory is lifted. The official maximum wave of the Tsunami was 1.2ft. It is amazing how even a small wave can have a dramatic impact. It is also worth noting that Tofino was predicted to have “less than a foot”, received 0.5ft and Port Alberni more than doubled.
3:15AM – Check my Social Media feed. Waves are occurring DO NOT GO IN THE RIVER
The currents have been very very strong. Do not go into the River or near the shore of the harbour until the Tsunami Advisory is completely lifted. We have had 1.2ft Tsunami at 1:30AM and possibly larger at 2:30AM.
Go to my Social Media feed socialbc.ca/@Alberniweather to see a long thread there as I have been watching all night from Victoria Quay. I am running out of battery so I won’t be updating this blog post until after I get some sleep. But I am still at the Quay for now. I’ll update at SocialBC. You can see it on the alberniweather.ca homepage.
Back in the car charging the phone back up.
The difference between the low of the first tsunami wave and the high of the second tsunami wave was over 1 metre due to the addition of the rising tide!
1.056m or 3ft! This combines with the rising tide. It will be very interesting to see what the official wave measurement is.
2:19AM TWC update (#11) had the first wave at 1.2ft
https://www.tsunami.gov/events/PAAQ/2025/07/29/t06p1k/11/WEAK51/WEAK51.txt
#tsunami #tsunami #portalberni #tofino #bamfield #ucluelet #earthquake #russia
early morning updates
I am still at the Victoria Quay. The second Wave came in at about 224. It quickly surpassed the high tide predicted for two hours from now at 4 o’clock. It is amazing to see the water rushing in. It’s a shame that it’s not daylight. I have some videos. And some pictures.
I am at Victoria Key. Look on my social media for videos. It was very obvious when the tsunami came at least the first noticeable wave. Filling in the river it is slowing now. It has been going for about 10 or 15 minutes. I assume it will reverse soon.
I am at Vic Quay looking for the currents to change. Check updayes on homepage
Update 11:40PM
Tofino should be seeing the first waves, but if Haida Gwaii is any indication, the largest waves will not come for at least an hour. This is a long period event.
Here is the example happening right now on Haida Gwaii (Henslung Cove station – Langara Island)
Now there’s a proper (small) tsunami wave signal!
From the Henslung Cove tide station on Langara Island, Haida Gwaii BC (NW tip of BC coast). In about 10 minutes the tide gauge rose to:
1737mm
and fell to
1569mm
then back up to 1669mm
That is a wave of 168mm or 16.8cm or 6.6 inches followed by a second of 10cm so far.
The period between the two peaks is 24 minutes.
Update 11PM
Watching larger activity happening now at the Hawaii news channels (YouTube link below).
We should see the first waves come into Port Alberni around 11:30PM. There will be more than one. The first may not be the largest. Haida Gwaii is now seeing about 5cm, an hour after the action began.
Do not go to the water’s edge. If you look for an area to observe the wave, ensure you are on a high point of ground.
Update 10:30PM
New Update #7 for BC. Still an Advisory only. With first waves at Tofino at 11:30PM under 30cm. No indication on time or height at Port Alberni but expect a little after Tofino, and similar size.
The first waves have reached Haida Gwaii. The northwest tip, Langara Island, has a tide station at Henslung Cove. The TWC predicted the waves to reach Langara around 10:05PM. It looks like the water receded at about 9:50PM and there have been a few very small waves, maybe 1-5cm. We will see what the TWC updates show for official observations.
You can definitely see the waves on the tide gauge, they are small (maybe 15cm?), but they are definitely there. Look at how the gap changes between the red (observed) and black (predicted) lines. You can also see the small wiggles in the light blue line on the bottom.
Update 9:30PM
No change. Still an Advisory for 11:30PM arrival in Tofino (and around the same in Port Alberni) of a 30cm wave or less.
Note: 30cm sounds small but can still cause very dangerous currents. Do not go to the water’s edge. The prediction could also be underestimating and larger waves could result. The largest wave in Japan has been 60cm (2ft) so far.
If the a Warning is issued and the Tsunami Siren sounds only people in the inundation zone should evacuate.
You can see the inundation/evacuation zone in brown below with routes to safe gathering places.
Avoid crossing any creeks or bridges except Redford Extension.
Some good gathering places depending where you are:
- 3rd and Argyle
- Echo Centre
- Walmart/CanTire (either from Johnston, or the ‘back way’ from Beaver Creek to Cherry Creek Road)
- Tseshaht Market
Full Tsunami Information at the ACRD including this map in full PDF format.
The Raspberry Shake under the stairs at Alberniweather felt the Russia quake.
This never ceases to amaze me! A tiny little clear box under the basement stairs detected this powerful earthquake across the Pacific Ocean!
Update 8:40PM
Even though the Advisory is “only” predicting 30cm (1ft), this still implies that serious and dangerous ocean currents will occur so you SHOULD NOT go anywhere near the waters edge. These currents can take away a person.
DO NOT GO TO THE WATERS EDGE. STAY AWAY.
No change. Only an Advisory for BC. 11:30PM arrival at Tofino with less than 30cm/1ft.
Hawaii is under a Warning and evacuations are occurring you can see live broadcast here:
Live stream from Japan as waves come in. (in English interpreted)
They have seen up to 50cm (20in) so far.
UPDATE 8:30PM — Tsunami Advisory remains – No Warning or Evacuation – Arrival of 30cm (1ft) Tsunami in Tofino predicted 11:30PM.
Update #4 from Tsunami.gov shows two predicted points of impact. Predictions for other locations may appear in future updates.
- British Columbia
- Langara 2205 PDT Jul 29 less than 1ft
- Tofino 2330 PDT Jul 29 less than 1ft
- Washington
- Neah Bay 2340 PDT Jul 29 less than 1ft
- Port Angeles 0015 PDT Jul 30 less than 1ft
- Port Townsend 0045 PDT Jul 30 less than 1ft
- Bellingham 0110 PDT Jul 30 less than 1ft
Up to 50cm (20in) seen so far in Japan.
The earthquake itself is now upgraded to a 8.8 Magnitude:
PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS – UPDATED
- Magnitude 8.8
- Origin Time 1525 AKDT Jul 29 2025
1625 PDT Jul 29 2025
2325 UTC Jul 29 2025 - Coordinates 52.2 North 160.0 East
- Depth 46 miles
- Location 315 miles SW of Bering I., Komandorski
80 miles SE of Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka
Shaking registered at Alberniweather.
You can see the actual earthquake at the Alberniweather Shake Monitor.
I can only write a short post. The best place for up-to-date information is the tsunami.gov website. Look there for watches and warnings updates. I will also update my social media feed at the top of the homepage. You can find me on socialbc.ca.
Look for the links that are specifically for BC and the West Coast. There could be different levels of watches, advisories, or warnings in different areas of the Pacific.
This is from a 8.7 magnitude earthquake off of the coast of eastern Russia. This is a very strong earthquake. We should have more data on what kind of tsunami has been generated in the next couple of hours.
The current advisory will be upgraded or downgraded with that new information.
There is no need to evacuate at this time. It will probably be another few hours at least before we know more and many more hours before any impact will come across the Pacific to Port Alberni.
You will know if the sirens start to go that it is time to leave. when I am back home later this evening, I will post an update that has times for arrival of any impacts. But again, don’t expect anything in the next hours.
Oh, and if you want some fun. Go to the homepage and click on the earthquake shake map. You should see where the station at Alberniweather detected the Russia earthquake. Amazing technology.
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