All along the California coast this morning, emergency personnel
were preparing for possible effects of a tsunami. An earthquake
with preliminary magnitude 8.9 occurred at 9:46 p.m. Pacific
Standard time Thursday near the east coast of of Honshu, Japan.
All along the California coast this morning, emergency personnel were preparing for possible effects of a tsunami. An earthquake with preliminary magnitude 8.9 occurred at 9:46 p.m. Pacific Standard time Thursday near the east coast of of Honshu, Japan. The estimated time of wave arrival of tsunami, a series of waves with dangerous potential that could be spawned by the very large earthquake in Japan, are varied for sites along the coast, according to the National Weather Service.
The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center gave an estimated time of initial wave arrival at San Francisco at 8:08 a.m.
Crescent City, Del Norte County, may be the hardest hit in California, Bill Knight of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said.
“We’re looking at a first wave arrival at 7:25 a.m. and leading edge should hit Southern California at about 8:48 a.m.,” Knight said. “The hot spot we forecast will be Crescent City, where we predict 2.4 meters, roughly seven feet.”
He said California residents along the coast are starting a very slow and carefully orchestrated pull-back from Crescent City.
“The highest waves could hit two to three hours later,” said Knight. “We’re expecting, if this scenario pans out, there will be serious damage at the docks, at least, and some potential for damage to houses, with foundations undermined.”
Knight said it appears the waves will hit British Columbia first, then Washington and Oregon.
“Other waves will follow behind,” Knight said. “That could persist for hours. We have run our forecast models.”
Capt. Dana Reno of the Crescent City Fire Department reports the entire downtown has been evacuated along with low-lying coastal areas.
“We don’t know how big the wave is that’s coming here,” he said “We have evacuated the downtown area, starting at 4:30 a.m. That’s residences and businesses. People are being evacuated to the high school.”
Kareen Kalvin, who lives just outside Crescent City, said her house, two miles from the ocean, is not in danger, but much of downtown has been evacuated, and officials are warning people not to go to the seashore to sight-see.
“They are warning people not to go down to the beach, don’t be a looky-loo. We need to get out of that area. We don’t know what is going to happen. They are not expecting it to be anything devastating, but it could mess up our harbor.”
Emergency warnings are in effect for the Bay area counties of San Francisco, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara.
Jordan Scott, public information officer for the California Emergency Management Agency in Sacramento, said the highest alerts along the California coast are running from Santa Barbara north, and that local officials also have called for evacuations along the coast in San Mateo County, in addition to the Crescent City area.
“Wave heights are projected a couple of inches to six feet,” Scott said. “It may not stir up a lot of damage, but if your emergency officials are telling you to get out, get out.”
In Hawaii, residents last night heard sirens alerting warning them of possible tsunami. Some stocked up on some water and food.
Traffic jams were evident for a time in some areas as people fueled up at gas stations.
However, residents of Waikiki were relatively calm, having gone through this before. The tsunami reached Hawaii about 3:30 a.m. with little effect on the islands.
Water rushed onshore in Honolulu, swamping the beach in Waikiki and surging over the break wall in the resort but stopped short of the area’s high-rise hotels.
Waves of 6 feet high were recorded in Maui, and 3 feet in Oahu and Kauai. Officials warned that the waves would continue and could become larger, but a scientist at the tsunami warning center said it didn’t appear that they would cause major damage in Hawaii, according to the Associated Press.
Congresswoman Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, called the earthquake and tsunami effects in Japan devastating.
“I encourage any of my constituents who may be traveling or know someone traveling in Japan or any of the affected areas to call my Sacramento office for assistance.”
Rick Daysog, reporting from Honolulu, contributed to this report.
