Small tsunami waves have been reported on California's coast on Wednesday, several hours after a magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Chile, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Chile's navy issued tsunami warnings for the country's coast, and the National Weather Service issued tsunami warnings for Hawaii after Tuesday's earthquake. The warnings were lifted as of Wednesday morning.
No warnings were issued for the mainland U.S. However, officials have reported odd "water movements"- including abnormal wave heights along with tide fluctuations- on the western coast.
The small tsunami waves arrived in Los Angeles County a little before 5 a.m., the NWS said. That's two hours before the tsunami warning in Hawaii ended. The highest tsunami wave recorded as of Wednesday afternoon was a little over 1 foot near Avila Beach, the NWS said.
"Wave heights have been just a few inches," the NWS said on its Facebook page, "but there have been reports of noticeable currents in both the Ventura and Santa Barbara harbors this morning."
Travelers in boats were warned to look out for "a sudden push" in the water, like a gust of wind, Kathy Hoxsie, a NWS meteorologist, said according to the LA Times.
The "wave action" could last for all of Wednesday, said Bill Knight, an oceanographer with the National Tsunami Warning Center, the LA Times reported.
"Small tsunami waves continue along the southern CA coast this afternoon," the NWS wrote on Facebook. "These minor surges will likely continue into Thursday, a full 24-hours after the initial arrival."
Knight said the wave action in this situation is "pretty typical."
"I think there's nothing to worry about here, but we want to do our due diligence," Knight said, according to the LA Times. "We haven't seen anything yet to make us worry. And we don't expect to."
