Expert hopes Tsunami Advisory helps people prepare: 'It's a good wake-up call'

PORTLAND, Ore. — Those living on the West Coast awoke Saturday to a Tsunami Advisory brought on by an undersea volcanic eruption near the Pacific nation of Tonga.

Scientists said this is the first-ever, Pacific-wide Tsunami Advisory caused by a volcanic eruption, rather than an earthquake.

Experts said even though it didn't cause a lot of damage, it's still a good wake-up call for people who live on the coast.

"There was a very loud speaker, explaining that this is a warning, stay off the beaches, stay off the piers and all of that," said Patty Brockman, who heard the sirens Saturday morning on Cannon Beach.

Some of the people I work with said they’ve lived here for ten years and they’ve never heard tsunami warning, actual warning sirens.

While the waves seen along the Oregon coast, much like those at Cannon Beach in this video from Brockman, may not seem like a big deal. But experts said under a Tsunami Advisory, anything can change in a second.

"Just shows that we have to be vigilant. This is a good reminder and a wake-up call that tsunamis are a possibility," said Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and professor of the University of Washington.

He says to remember it could be small waves now, but that could change at a moment's notice.

"The water may recede and rush out, and come in in a big surge that is moving a lot faster than you can outrun it. There is no question," Tobin explained. "You don’t know that a surge of water isn’t coming, that can be really dangerous.

Tobin said this volcanic eruption is a historic one and they will be studying it for years to come.