Map Shows California, Oregon Tsunami Warning Red Zone

A tsunami warning has been issued for parts of California and Oregon, meaning residents are urged to move away from the coast or to high ground.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s alert system issued the warning about 11:20 p.m. PT Tuesday. The warning remained in place at time of publication.

An NOAA map (below) shows the red zone stretch about 130 miles from its southernmost point at Cape Mendocino near Fortuna, California, to near Bandon, Oregon.

The area reached as far as 15 miles inland at its deepest point at Cape Mendocino, which is located about 200 miles north of San Francisco.

The rest of the California and Oregon coast remains under a tsunami advisory, meaning people should stay off beaches due to strong currents and dangerous waves.

The tsunami, if it occurs, is forecast to hit the North Coast at about 11:40 p.m. and, by 1 a.m., reach the Los Angeles area, where the impact is expected to be lower.

The warning follows a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Russia.

A tsunami warning is the top level of the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center three-tier alert system, which includes watch, advisory, and means “[d]angerous coastal flooding and powerful currents” are possible

Tsunami Warnings Issued

A powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula triggered rare tsunami warnings for multiple countries, including the United States, Japan, China, and the Philippines, on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the U.S., the NOAA upgraded tsunami alerts for California’s North Coast and issued advisories for the remainder of the U.S. West Coast.

What To Know

Specifically, the warning covered the region stretching from the Oregon-California border to Cape Mendocino in Northern California, including Humboldt and Del Norte counties—a red zone where residents were urged to evacuate immediately due to the imminent threat of dangerous waves.

The rest of California’s coastline, including major cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, fell under a tsunami advisory, indicating a lower but still significant risk of hazardous currents and powerful waves. The alert system does not call for evacuations outside the warning zone but instructs all coastal residents to stay out of the water and away from beaches until further notice.

Forecasts projected tsunami waves to reach the Oregon coast by 11:40 p.m. PT and to impact Fort Bragg, Crescent City, and other Northern California locations between 11:50 p.m. and 11:55 p.m. on July 29. San Francisco Bay was expected to see waves by 12:40 a.m. PT, Los Angeles Harbor around 1:05 a.m. PT, and subsequent southern cities into the early morning hours.

Officials cautioned that the first tsunami wave might not be the largest and several waves could impact the coastline over a period that could last up to 30 hours in some locations.

What People Are Saying

“Warning: The Oregon/Cal. Border – Cape Mendocino, California. Issued at: 7/30/2025, 7:20:55 AM,” the official tsunami warning stated on the NOAA website.

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said: “Stay out of low-lying coastal areas and stay out of the water.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she had been in touch with coastal leaders and the Port of L.A. about overnight preparations and urged residents to sign up for emergency alerts at NotifyLA.org

Helen Janiszewski, assistant professor of geophysics and tectonics at the University of Hawaii, called the earthquake “one of the ten most severe on record.” The U.S. Geological Survey stated it was the sixth most severe earthquake globally, matching those from 2010 in Chile and 1906 in Ecuador.

What Happens Next

Follow the latest updates from the NOAA’s National Tsunami Warning Center here.

The California Department of Conservation’s updated interactive tsunami hazard maps can help residents and travelers identify if they are within at-risk zones.