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Tsunami sweeps 5 to sea, rips out California docks
C. Johnson3/11/2011
www.news10.net
CRESCENT CITY, CA (AP) - A tsunami swept at least five people watching the waves out to sea Friday and ripped docks out of harbors in California and Oregon, spreading the destruction of a devastating Japanese earthquake to the shores of the United States. SLIDESHOW: Quake, tsunami damage
Four people were rescued from the water in southern Oregon, but one man who was taking photos in Northern California was still missing Friday afternoon and presumed dead. Coast Guard helicopters searched for him near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County, Calif., but suspended their search after more than seven hours over the cold, rough ocean.
The large waves shook loose boats and tore apart docks in at least two California harbors and one in Oregon, causing millions of dollars of damage.
A man was found dead aboard a commercial vessel in Brookings, but sheriff's officials said it appeared to be from natural causes.
"This is just devastating. I never thought I'd see this again," said Ted Scott, a retired mill worker who lived in Crescent City when a 1964 tsunami killed 17 people on the West Coast, including 11 in his town. "I watched the docks bust apart. It buckled like a graham cracker."
The waves didn't make it over a 20-foot break wall protecting the rest of the city, and no home damage was immediately reported.
Del Norte County sheriff's spokesman Bill Stevens said most boats were pulled out of the harbor in preparation for Friday's tsunami, but 35 vessels that remained were crashing into one another and sinking.
The wooden docks also were breaking apart under the force of the waves.
Crescent City Councilwoman Kelly Schellong said the docks and harbor "are pretty much completely destroyed."
According to Brad Alexander with Cal EMA, in Del Norte County 8,000 people were evacuated. No homes believed to have been damaged but the commercial area of town was flooded. The flooding was but not particularly destructive.
Santa Cruz
The Santa Cruz region experienced several surges in the harbor Friday morning following tsunami warnings that sucked some boats right out of the harbor.
Alexander said Santa Cruz County evacuated 6,000 people. There was an estimated $4.5 million in damage to private property (mostly boats) and $10 million in damage to harbor facilities.
San Mateo County
Port and harbor facilities in San Mateo County were damaged, the extent and exact location unknown, said Alexander.
Ft. Bragg
Noyo harbor at Ft. Bragg on the Mendocino coast was evacuated Friday morning, according to local emergency officials. No damage had been reported.
San Luis Obispo County
Alexander said Port San Luis in San Luis Obispo County (Avila Beach) also sustained some damage, the extent unknown.
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Man Swept Out To Sea; Tsunami Batters Harbors
March 11, 2011_________________________________________________________________________
SAN FRANCISCO -- A man who went to the Northern California coast near the Klamath River to photograph the arrival of a tsunami early Friday was swept out to sea and remained missing, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Elsewhere along the Northern and Central California coast, the tsunami generated by a massive earthquake in Japan left a wake of battered boats and debris littering ports throughout the region.Coast Guard Petty Officer Rachel Polish told KTVU that three people had gone to the coast to take pictures of the tsunami’s arrival around 10 a.m. when they were swept out to sea.Two of the individuals were able to make it safely back to shore, but the third remained missing and was the subject of an intense helicopter and water search by the Coast Guard.The tsunami capsized and damaged several boats in harbors up and down the coast, leaving the waters littered with debris.Officials reported that the tide pulled back about 8 inches over a five-minute period nearby at Pillar Point, setting the scene for the destruction in Santa Cruz. At least 15 fishing and pleasure crafts were ripped from their moorings and heavily damaged during the surge.Two docks also sustained major damage during the surge. Local officials had declared an emergency and estimated the damage at $2 million.Meanwhile, to the north in Crescent City, the tsunami caused heavy damage to the harbor town. Del Norte County sheriff's spokesman Bill Stevens said most boats were pulled out of the harbor in preparation for Friday's tsunami, but 35 vessels that remained crashed into one another and were sinking. The wooden docks were also breaking apart under the force of the waves. Crescent City Councilwoman Kelly Schellong said the docks and harbor were "pretty much completely destroyed."Stevens said the damage cost wass estimated to be into the millions, and the surges were expected to continue through the afternoon. "This is just devastating. I never thought I'd see this again," said Ted Scott, a retired mill worker who lived in Crescent City when a 1964 tsunami killed 17 people on the West Coast, including 11 in his town. "I watched the docks bust apart. It buckled like a graham cracker." The waves didn't make it over a 20-foot break wall protecting the rest of the city, and no serious injuries or home damage was immediately reported.Elsewhere, the wave impact had not been felt as dramatically.Earlier in the morning, hundreds of cars jammed the roadside along Highways 35 and 92 as residents of Half Moon Bay and other nearby communities obeyed a voluntary evacuation warning in preparation for the tsunami's arrival.County officials had advised residents in the low-lying areas west of Highway 1 to move to ground east of the highway, according to the county's emergency alert system.Residents in the Linda Mar area of Pacifica were advised to evacuate to the east of Adobe Drive. Those in El Granada should evacuate to the east of Coronado Street.Meanwhile, Pacifica school officials canceled classes for the day.In San Francisco, acting Mayor Ed Lee said no evacuations had been ordered because of a combination of low tide and only a surge expected to be only 1-2 feet.However, as a precaution Lee said the Great Highway along Ocean Beach had been closed. The highway was closed from Point Lobos at 48th Avenue to Lake Merced, Lt. Troy Dangerfield said.To the south along the Central Coast the tsunami surge also caused damage to boats in Morro Bay.Police Chaplain James Berg said the swells had knocked some boats loose and damaged a dock. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from low lying areas, the harbor and the embarcadero areas of the city.
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