Strong Currents Under Tsunami Advisory For California Coast

(AP) - Scientists have measured the arrival of a very small tsunami at points along California following a magnitude-8.3 earthquake that hit off the coast of Chile.

Paul Whitmore, director of the National Tsunami Warning Center, says wave heights early Thursday ranged from seven-tenths of a foot in Santa Monica to one-tenth of a foot at Arena Cove in Mendocino County.

Orange County beaches, harbors, piers and marinas were reopened at 6 a.m., but swimmers and surfers are being warned of strong currents.

Whitmore says the advisory will be in effect through at least late morning for a 300-mile stretch from south Orange County to Ragged Point about 50 miles northwest of San Luis Obispo.

A tsunami advisory falls short of a tsunami warning, and waves inundating the land were not expected.