NORTH COAST, Calif. – The results of a massive Thursday earthquake in Japan have continued to reverberate across the Pacific, with waves bashing into the West Coast and causing California's governor to declare a state of emergency for four North Coast counties.
The US Geological Survey reported that the 8.9-magnitude quake occurred off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, at 9:46 p.m. Pacific time Thursday. The quake occurred at a dept of 15.2 miles.
That quake has since been followed by dozens of aftershocks, ranging a high as 7.1 in magnitude.
Conditions resulted in a tsunami advisory remaining in effect for the West Coast early Saturday morning.
The tsunami warnings began in Hawaii late Thursday, when the Civil Air Patrol’s Hawaii Wing dispatched planes to fly pre-assigned warning routes around the islands to look for anybody on or near the shoreline.
“It is a bit unusual for us,” said Capt. Anthony Ferrara, the incident commander for the CAP mission, said in a statement from the agency. “We don’t usually do nighttime ops but because the tsunami was due to hit early this morning, our pilots made sure Hawaii’s citizens were notified so they could safely move out of harm’s way.
Early Friday morning, the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for the West Coast, and true to the prediction a tsunami generated by the quake raced across the Pacific at a reported rate of 500 miles per hour, hitting the West Coast early Friday morning.
Those warnings triggered evacuations in low-lying coastal areas in Humboldt, Sonoma, Mendocino and San Mateo counties, officials reported.
In Del Norte County, one of the first areas of California where the tsunami hit, one death was reported when a man watching the tsunami was swept out to sea from near the mouth of the Klamath River, and there was substantial damage to Crescent City's harbor, according to the offices of Assemblyman Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena).
In Mendocino County, there was a report of approximately 400 feet of pier and two vessels being damaged in Fort Bragg's Noyo Harbor. The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said the full extent of damage wasn't known and an estimate of monetary damage wasn't unavailable.
Some of the most serious damage the state suffered was reported in Santa Cruz County, where 20 boats had sunk and there was significant damage to approximately 100 private vessels. Officials also reported that Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor’s infrastructure suffered significant damage, with State Fish & Game providing four vessels to assist in debris.
By Friday afternoon Gov. Jerry Brown had issued an emergency proclamation for Del Norte, Humboldt, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, which had taken the brunt of the surge from the tsunami – with residents in low-lying areas evacuating and damage reported to beaches, harbors and ports. There were concerns that more damage could still result from another series of waves.
Brown also issued a Friday statement expressing sympathy to the people of Japan and reporting that he directed California’s Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) to make state resources available to the Japanese government.”
“Cal EMA has been on full alert since early this morning, and tsunami warnings were issued for the state’s coastal areas,” Brown said. “I urge Californians living in affected areas to follow all instructions from state and federal response agencies.”
Chesbro and State Sen. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) thanked Gov. Jerry Brown for swiftly declaring a State of Emergency in Del Norte County after the Crescent City Harbor was hit Friday. Chesbro and LaMalfa had written Brown letters earlier on Friday urging him to make the emergency
“Our thoughts are with the residents of Crescent City today,” Chesbro said. “We don’t know the full extent of the damage yet, but it will be significant by the time the tsunami danger has passed. The governor declaring an official State of Emergency will immediately release resources from the State Office of Emergency Services that Del Norte County will need to start to rebuild its harbor.”
Chesbro is scheduled to tour the damage in Crescent City on Saturday, as is Thompson, whose staff said Friday he was en route and planning to survey the damage that resulted and meet with members of the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, the Crescent City Mayor and City Council, the Del Norte County Emergency Services Coordinator, and the Crescent City Harbor District commissioners.
“I have been in constant communication with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regarding the tsunami threat in Northern California,” Thompson said Friday. “Until the situation stabilizes, local communities should remain vigilant and heed all warnings and instructions from emergency personnel. Please take every possible precaution to ensure your safety.”
Thompson added that the cleanup in Crescent City “will undoubtedly take time and effort, but I know we will recover from this disaster.”
In neighboring Mendocino County, where high waves from the quake had been expected to hit at about 7:30 a.m. Friday, officials began emergency notifications shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, offering the opportunity to residents living at or up to 150 feet above sea level the chance to voluntarily evacuate to higher ground, according to a Mendocino County Sheriff's Office report.
For those who evacuated, shelters were set up at Fort Bragg Senior Center and the Point Arena High School Gymnasium.
In response to the threat, the county also closed Highway 1 at Highway 128 and Elk at or near Highway 1 north, closed Mendocino School District for the day and delayed the start for the Point Arena and Manchester schools.
By 3:15 p.m., the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center downgraded the tsunami status in Mendocino County, from a warning to an advisory, causing officials to lift all road restrictions and allow evacuees to return to their homes.
By day's end, the Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services received no reports of any residents being injured during this event.
Also not reporting damage were the county jurisdictions of San Mateo, Sonoma and Humboldt, although Sonoma County officials reported on Friday that the county was experiencing a second series of waves “that are more significant than the first.”
As of 5 p.m., the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services had announced the closure of its Emergency Operations Center (EOC), with its voluntary evacuation advisory but residents reminded to continue exercising caution in low-lying areas and avoid beach and river bar areas.
North Coast counties were urging residents late Friday to continue to be cautious in light of the continued tsunami advisory.
The American Red Cross also reported Friday that it was preparing its own tsunami response, with the nonprofit's chapters in Del Norte and Humboldt counties opening respite centers and shelters to keep more than 350 people safe, dry and fed.
The Red Cross is taking donations through www.arcsm.org or www.redcross.org; by phone at 707-577-7600; U.S. Mail, American Red Cross, 5297 Aero Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403; or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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