Weather Service forecasts .78 meter tsunami for Coastside

A tsunami is expected to strike the Coastside between 7:30 and 8:00 am, driven by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

The National Weather Service forecasts that the amplitide of the tsunami is to be .78 meters at Half Moon Bay. By comparison, a tsunami of 2.2 meters amplitude was measured at Princeton in 1960.

San Mateo County is evacuating areas west of Highway 1 to higher ground. Evacuation areas are Farallone View Elementary School in Montara, Pescadero High School, and Terra Nova and Ocean High Schools in Pacifica.