CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — Waves surged along California’s coast from a tsunami triggered by the massive earthquake in Japan.
The tide began rising shortly after 7:30 a.m. along beaches in Crescent City, where the tsunami was expected to hit the hardest in California. Officials predicted that waves could reach as high as 7 feet.
Tsunami waves hit Ore. coast after sweeping Hawaii
HONOLULU (AP) — Tsunami waves swamped Hawaii beaches and brushed the U.S. western coast Friday but didn’t immediately cause major damage after devastating Japan and sparking evacuations throughout the Pacific.
Kauai was the first of the Hawaiian islands hit by the tsunami, which was caused by an earthquake in Japan, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Water rushed ashore in Honolulu, covering the beach in Waikiki and surging over a break wall in the world-famous resort but stopping short of the area’s high-rise hotels.
Waves about 7 feet high were recorded on Maui, and 3 feet in Oahu and Kauai. Officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger, and a scientist at the tsunami warning center said there was likely some damage to mooring facilities and piers.
“We called this right. This evacuation was necessary,” said geophysicist Gerard Fryer in Hawaii. “There’s absolutely no question, this was the right thing to do.”
Fryer said high water reached Port Orford, Ore., around 11:30 a.m. PST Friday. Evacuations were ordered and beaches closed all along the coast, and fishermen in Crescent City, Calif., fired up their crab boats and left the harbor to ride out an expected swell. A tsunami in 1964 killed 11 people in Crescent City.
In Hawaii, roadways and beaches were empty as the tsunami struck. As sirens sounded throughout the night, most residents cleared out from the coasts and low-lying areas.
“I’m waiting to see if I’ll be working and if I can get to work,” said Sabrina Skiles, who spent the night at her husband’s office in downtown Kahului in Maui. Their home, across the street from the beach, was in a mandatory evacuation zone. “They’re saying the worst is over right now but we keep hearing reports saying ‘don’t go anywhere. You don’t want to go too soon.”‘
Local officials activated tsunami warning sirens along the coast and have urged residents in low-lying areas to seek higher ground. At Santa Cruz, some surfers ventured out on the water to take advantage of decent waves ahead of the tidal wave — and stayed in the water until the level plunged when the tsunami hit and caused several surges.
Elsewhere, emergency officials closed some beaches and advised people to stay away from the shoreline.