Crescent City harbor suffers up to $700K in damages from tsunami (California)

Mercury News ^ | 11/15/06 | AP

[BurbankKarl]

CRESCENT CITY, Calif. - Two docks were destroyed after a five-foot surge rolled into the Crescent City Harbor on Wednesday afternoon and caused up to $700,000 in damages.

The surge was the result of an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 that struck earlier in the day near Japan, prompting tsunami warnings for Japan, Russia and Alaska, according to the National Weather Service.

Thousands of people living along northern Japan's Pacific coast fled to higher ground, but Japan's meteorological agency withdrew its tsunami warning after about three hours. Tsunami warnings for Russia and coastal areas of Alaska also were canceled, as were tsunami watches for Hawaii, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and several Pacific islands.

One swimmer suffered minor cuts when small surges hit Waikiki beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

In California, the weather service reported ocean surges as high as 6 feet and waves gusting up to 30 mph but did not call an official tsunami warning or watch.

Surges were observed from Port San Luis on the Central California coast to the Oregon border, but were too small and concentrated to prompt a tsunami warning, said Sten Tjaden, an NWS forecaster in Eureka.

"They don't want to put a warning out if the impact is going to be so localized," Tjaden said. "And I haven't heard of damage elsewhere. The only place I've heard of damage is at Crescent City at the harbor."

Harbor workers at Crescent City - about 20 miles south of Oregon's state line - noticed a fast-moving current around mid-afternoon that harbor master Richard Young described as a "river within the ocean."

[BurbankKarl]

the cancellation

EVALUATION
NO TSUNAMI DANGER EXISTS FOR ALASKA/ BRITISH COLUMBIA/
WASHINGTON/ OREGON OR CALIFORNIA. HOWEVER SOME AREAS MAY
EXPERIENCE SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS
CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL
CLEAR DETERMINATIONS MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

[BurbankKarl]

Gimme my Visa Check Card Beyatch!

[BurbankKarl]

tsunami in CA ping

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping.....
'
I have ForecastFox...and this morning I had the weather alert popup but a bit later when I wanted to see what that was about I couldn't find anything....so now I know .....thanks.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the BBC:

Small tsunamis hit northern Japan

*****************************************

It appears they were smaller than the waves in Oregon....how can that be?

***********************************************

It said a 40cm (16 inches) wave hit Nemuro port in Hokkaido island. Another one of 20cm (8 inches) was recorded.

The JMA initially expected a tsunami of at least two metres (6.5 feet) high after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake shook the Kuril Islands, north of Japan.

Tsunami warnings for the area and for Russia's Pacific coast were later called off.

***********************************************

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

**************************************************

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER

------------------- ----- ------ ----- ------ -----

HANASAKI HOKKAIDO 43.3N 145.6E 1243Z 0.30M 64MIN

KUSHIRO HOKKAIDO 43.0N 144.3E - 0.25M -

SHEMYA ALASKA 0.20M -

AMCHITKA ALASKA 0.08M -

TIME - TIME OF THE MEASUREMENT AMPL -

AMPLITUDE IN METERS FROM MIDDLE TO CREST OR MIDDLE TO TROUGH OR HALF OF THE CREST TO TROUGH

PER - PERIOD OF TIME FROM ONE WAVE CREST TO THE NEXT

EVALUATION

SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. FOR THOSE AREAS - WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

[bobbyd]

Gimme my Visa Check Card Beyatch!

HA!!!

[PAR35]

five-foot surge

The structures couldn't stand up to a 5 foot wave?

[glorgau]

The structures couldn't stand up to a 5 foot wave?

Instead of a 5 foot wave, think of it as a short, fast 5 foot tide.

[Rio]

There was a BIG tsunami in Crescent City in 1964 (i think) due the Alaska quake. Interesting that they'd get another one.

[Rio]

Here it is:

A 1964 tsunami washed away 11 people -- the only tsunami to take lives in the continental United States.

That tsunami's largest wave was about 21 feet tall, and the surge destroyed or damaged 91 houses and 172 businesses and washed out roads and bridges, power lines and sewage systems. The fuel tanks at the local Texaco plant burned for four days and some businesses caught fire.

[Uncle Hal]

I have a friend that lives on the coast in Oregon and it was recommended last night that he move to higher ground, which he did. No damage or high water to speak of.