DEL NORTE COUNTY, Calif. (KIEM)- A 9.0 earthquake, followed by a tsunami that rocked the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, then the Crescent City Harbor.
It began with the most powerful earthquake in Japan’s history, followed by a strong tsunami that devastated the Crescent City Harbor.
A broadcast from The Weather Channel warning Del Norte residents, a Tsunami is on the way.
“It just has the right size, so the water gets very slushing in that area. and that enhances,” the announcer said during the March 11, 2011 broadcast. “The water rises, and that’s what’s done so much damage there.”
Current City Manager Eric Weir was the public works director at that time.
“They thought it was going to be of a size that would be to the 1964 event,” he said.
Which took out the majority of the town, the 2011 Tsunami, according to Weir, didn’t have a huge impact in-town.
“The harbor completely different story.,” he said. “Ended up in resulting in a $50M harbor replacement project,” he said.
Multiple boats and docks destroyed, that debris washing up on Crescent City shores.
Professor Emeritus Lori Dengler works in the geology department at Humboldt State University, she says the West Coast is susceptible to tsunamis, and reminds the public to never forget that.
“We had had $24M worth of damage in Crescent City Harbor in 2006, from an 8.3 that came just north of Japan.”
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake took the lives of nearly 18,000 people and more than 2,500 remain missing.
In Crescent City, one life was lost, Dengler credits the eight-hour notice for saving lives.
Her research shows education surrounding earthquakes and tsunamis among the public is crucial.
“As a result of that we started a really strong program with California State Parks to provide Tsunami information in parks,” she said.
Dengler’s research has also showed most people who died in tsunami’s were those who went back into the tsunami zone or sought refuge in a vehicle.
Dengler says those who evacuate from a tsunami should always head inland.
“Always better to out of the zone, vertical evacuations only used as an absolutely last resort,” she said.
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Pro Tem Mayor Blake Inscore says despite the tragedy there is a silver lining.
“I take different tolls on different communities but when two community can come together share in that tragedy it also provides an opportunity to rebuild with a sense of hope,” he said.
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Something the mayor of Rikuzentakata City in Japan, Futoshi Toba says, helped his community.
“Thank you so much,” he said. “I believe that if it had not been our encounter with you, we would have surely lost hope.”
New evacuations zones have been updated in recent months. For a link, click here.
