Long Beach & rest of western US under a tsunami warning after volcano erupts in Pacific

A Tsunami warning has been issued for the Western United States, plus Alaska and Hawaii after an underwater volcano erupted near Tongo in the Pacific Ocean.

Details:

Hours ago, an underwater volcano near the Polynesian island nation of Tonga erupted, causing violent waves to crash ashore; flooding even reached the capital of Nuku'alofa.

• Tonga's King Tupou VI was evacuated from the Royal Palace after the tsunami flooded the capital, RNZ reported.

• It is unknown the severity of the damage at this time due to an internet outage across Tongo.

Back home:

The National Weather Service has warned California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska residents to move off the beach and stay out of harbors and marinas.

• There are reports of flooding in Santa Cruz with images of capsized boats in the harbor, and in Orange County, a sheriff's helicopter was spotted, warning people to stay off the beach.

• The City of Long Beach alerted residents to expect "small rip currents and tidal changes near beaches and harbors at 7:50 am."

• The National Weather Service in San Diego says waves have arrived and will continue throughout the afternoon.