Officials say there is no tsunami threat for California and the U.S. West Coast after a powerful earthquake rattled the coast of Taiwan on Tuesday evening.
The U.S. Geological Survey registered the quake at 7.5 magnitude. Tsunami warnings were issued for parts of Taiwan and Japan.
The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said it had studied the quake and determined that the West Coast does not face a risk. Some areas, however, “may experience non-damaging sea level changes.” The agency did not specify which areas might see changes.
Since 1800, California has been hit by more than 150 tsunamis, according to the California Geological Survey. Few to hit the coast have caused fatalities or damage.
Two of the biggest were in March 2011, when a tsunami hit California’s shores 10 hours after the devastating 9.1 earthquake in Japan. A tsunami with 21-foot surges followed the 9.2 quake in Alaska in 1965. Ten people were killed when the tsunami crashed into Crescent City, Calif.
