Berkeley’s emergency maps shows the neighborhoods, highlighted in red, that police say should be evacuated immediately. Credit: Genasys ProjectPolice have ordered evacuations in large swathes of West Berkeley after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off the Humboldt County coast Thursday morning triggered a tsunami warning for the California coast from Davenport near Santa Cruz to southern Oregon.
Police have told everyone west of Seventh Street to move inland immediately, taking only their loved ones and pets and leave behind anything inessential.
The warning includes the entire Bay Area, including Richmond, Berkeley and Oakland, said Brayden Murdock, a National Weather Service meteorologist. He declined to answer further questions, but said waves are expected to reach San Francisco “around noon.”
Authorities are warning the public to move away from the coast as waves generated by the quake could wash over low-lying areas.
The Berkeley Police Department ordered evacuations for sections of the city west of Seventh Street.
“People in the tsunami zone are in immediate danger and must evacuate now,” according to an alert sent around 11:25 a.m. “Stay east of Seventh Street. This is a lawful order to leave now.” A tsunami was projected to reach the San Francisco Bay at 12:10 a.m.
The city’s emergency map shows the areas where people should evacuate:
Berkeley Waterfront Tom Bates Fields West Frontage Road Interstate 80 freeway Aquatic Park Harrison, Gilman, Camelia and Page streets west of Fifth Street Jones, Cedar, Virginia and Delaware streets west of Sixth Street Hearst Avenue west of Fifth Street University Avenue and Addison Street west of Fourth Street All areas west of Third Street Potter Street and Folger Avenue west of Seventh StreetCity police instructed those in the evacuation area to leave immediately, to not stay on boats or docks, to bring all other people and pets with them, take only essential items and medications and lock their doors.
“Take one vehicle. This will help keep the roadways open for responders,” police said. “Be ready to walk out in case roadways become blocked.”
Police listed several resources for updates:
Tsunami.gov AC Alert: Phone, email, and https://twitter.com/alamedacoalert See Berkeley’s Emergency Map for updates. Other radio stations: KQED 88.5 FM, KCBS 740 AM, KGO 810 AM, and KNBR 680 AM Local news. City of Berkeley Radio: 1610 AM Check in with your neighbors: Share emergency information and instructions with the people around you. Verify information from a credible source.“Do not return until local officials state it is safe to do so,” the alert read.
The National Tsunami Warning Center says: “If you are in a tsunami warning area: Evacuate inland or to higher ground above and beyond designated tsunami hazard zones or move to an upper floor of a multi-story building, depending on your situation.”
There are several types of tsunami alerts, according to the National Weather Service, including a watch, an advisory and a warning. A predicted water rise above 3 feet prompts a warning, which is the highest level of risk.
In tsunami terms, anything under 1 foot usually isn’t dangerous. But a higher rise raises eyebrows — and attention — from emergency responders, especially for potential impacts on people or structures in the water or in low-lying areas along the shore. In tsunami science lingo, it’s called the inundation zone.
BART service has stopped in the Transbay Tube due to the earthquake and cell phones across the Bay Area buzzed with the tsunami alert around 11 a.m.
This is a developing story and we will update it as further details are available.
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