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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Southland beaches were under a tsunami warning today after an underwater volcano erupted in the South Pacific.
People were advised to move off the beach and out of the harbors and marinas, avoid the coastline and not to go to the coast to watch the tsunami.
Waves capable of producing strong currents hazardous to swimmers, boats, and coastal structures were expected to arrive starting at 7:50 a.m. Wave heights of 1 to 2 feet were expected.
``Seeing some surges on the Port San Luis tsunami gauge. Reporting up to a 24 cm residual so far. That's 9.4 inches or about 19 inches from the bottom and top of the residual,'' the National Weather Service's Los Angeles office tweeted at 8:08 a.m.
The NWS said at 7:05 a.m. that there were ``no significant concerns about inundation.''
The warning was in effect for Alaska, Hawaii and the entire West Coast.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, near Tonga, erupted late Friday. A tsunami hit Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, according to CNN, which reported that waves were flooding the capital.
Many Southland beaches and piers were closed, but no evacuation orders were in place.