By Justin Stapleton, Chief Meteorologist

A 7.9 earthquake off the American Samoan Islands early Tuesday set off a tsunami in the South Pacific Ocean.  National Weather Service officials have issued a Tsunami Advisory for the entire Oregon/Washington coastline in anticipation of wave energy from the tsunami bringing a strong rip current and increased wave height of 1-2 feet.

The official advisory is below from the NWS:

Tsunami Advisory

TSUNAMI MESSAGE NUMBER 5
NWS WEST COAST/ALASKA TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER PALMER AK
521 PM PDT TUE SEP 29 2009


...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
 COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM THE
 CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

...THIS MESSAGE IS INFORMATION ONLY FOR COASTAL AREAS OF
 WASHINGTON - BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ALASKA FROM THE
 OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER TO ATTU ALASKA...



RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
 A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD IMPACT THE
 ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS
 IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM
 THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY
 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES.
 - PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE
 WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.