Crescent City & Santa Cruz: Minor Tsunami Damage Hits California

by NowPublic Staff | March 11, 2011 at 10:23 am

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Crescent City, California: Harbors Ripped Loose by Tsunami Waves

The tsunami triggered by the Japan earthquake is beginning to hit the West Coast. The harbors broke loose in Crescent City, California, which is just south of the border with Oregon. Several Youtube users uploaded video of the tsunami coming ashore, which you can see below.

Further down the coast, the tsunami rolled into San Francisco Bay, sending uncharacteristic foot-high waves into Richardson Bay in Sausalito.

Santa Cruz Tsunami Video

Surfers in Santa Cruz waited for the tsunami surge, which broke a dock loose and damaged several boats. Overall, surfers were disappointed, as the waves caused damage to harbors with their rapid approach and retreat, but were not particularly ridable.You can see the time lapse video below.

Compared to the tremendous amounts of damage done to Sendai and the surrounding areas in Japan, the tsunami had mostly negligible effects on the West Coast.

Via the NOAA, we can see a visualization of the tsunami wave heights as it moved across the Pacific ocean: Tsunami Wave Height Model.