Monterey County and city beaches reopen as Tsunami advisory is lifted

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. -- The Tsunami advisory that was in effect since 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15, was canceled at 8:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Services. However, the city of Monterey reminds people to be cautious near the coast in case lingering strong currents exist.

READ MORE: Rising water forces evacuations in Santa Cruz harbor

At around 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, a 1 magnitude earthquake along with an undersea volcano erupted near the Tonga islands, sending large tsunami waves crashing across the shore and triggering a rare Tsunami advisory for the Northern California coast.

Tsunamis are a series of waves dangerous for many hours after initial arrival time. The first wave may not be the largest, Monterey County said in a statment.

READ MORE: Tsunami advisory in effect for US as waves hit Tonga following volcanic eruption

As of Saturday, the following will remain in effect until further notice in Monterey County:

• All state and city beaches along the Monterey County coast are closed.

• There are no evacuation warnings or orders in place at this time. Those living aboard boats at the Moss Landing and City of Monterey Harbors have been asked to leave as a precaution and most have done so.

• Moss Landing Harbor reports a partially broken dock.

• The US Coast Guard pier is closed.

• 

• 

• 

Tsunami waves are not expected to impact homes on the Central Coast. However, it will be very dangerous on the beaches today with highway run-up and increased rip current risk.

While there is some danger to boats in harbors as the pulses come in, fishermen who came in for their catch were caught off guard with the intensity of the waves.

"As far as fishing, something bad like this happens, they won't bite for a few days after," Michael Pitruzzello said. "It was just rushing in super-fast, you know, coming up super high. Ten minutes later, it would drop tremendously, five-six feet and then it brush right back in. Like I said, you've never seen it that high."

Pitruzzello has been fishing for nearly 20 years and his father almost 50 and they both said they've never seen anything like it.

With Princess Monterey Whale Watching, their Marketing Director Barbara Thomas said they were prepared for the event since they receive the alert at 7 a.m. but seeing it happen she said "it was just incredible. I've never seen anything like that before."

They weren't able to get the 9 a.m. boat out, but expect the rest of their trips to continue as planned. Thomas said the waves are calm out in the ocean, but in the harbor, it can get intense since the water gushes in because of the surge making it difficult to tie the boats up safely.

You can see waves rippling, however, businesses and people are still carrying on with their day.

On the other hand, the City of Monterey closed all the beaches because of the tsunami advisory. Police taped up the beaches and the parking lot is closed, but people are still allowed to walk around.

READ MORE: Cal Fire: Two people swept off near San Gregorio State Beach, currently in stable conditions

The owner of the grill on Lover's Point whose family business has been around for 39 years, said they've had other tsunami warnings.

"Nothing's ever happened. We're still standing," Danielle Cavallero said, "It's just not our normal Saturday, you know, and it's actually a beautiful day," "I feel safe. I don't feel like there is going to be anything happening. It's sad that we have to go through this and financially, it will hurt us today."