‘We dodged a bullet': How the tsunami played out across the Pacific

San Francisco Chronicle​

4 days ago

Tsunami sirens blared from seaside Japan to the Northern California coast on Tuesday night after a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake rattled far-east Russia and sent powerful walls of waves barreling across the Pacific Ocean.
Fishing vessels fled harbors where swirling currents threatened to wreck boats on docks. People escaping to higher ground clogged roads in Hawaii. California officials patrolled closed beaches to keep people away.
The waves finally rose up from the ocean's depths and swept into harbors and beaches — peaking just after nightfall Tuesday in Hawaii and before dawn Wednesday in California. While the swirling surges caused some flooding and damage, it was far less than feared.
'We dodged a bullet,' State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said at a press briefing. He urged people to remain cautious along the coast even though the greatest threat had passed.
Russia's remote, far-east Kamchatka Peninsula sustained significant damage from what appears to be one of the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded, including the collapse of a kindergarten building. One hospital patient leapt from a window during the shaking, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake triggered tsunamis that threatened a huge portion of the planet exposed to the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis, which can grow from earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or underwater landslides, are not just one wave but a series of waves that pulse out from the epicenter and can continue surging outward for hours or even days.
Within the United States, the largest waves hit Hawaii, where widespread warnings had sent residents and visitors to higher ground; Oprah Winfrey opened her private road in Maui to help residents evacuate. The U.S. Navy secured its ships at Pearl Harbor.
The biggest waves, exceeding 5 feet, hit Kahului on Maui, with waves of at least 4 feet in Hilo on the Big Island and Haleiwa on Oahu.
Across California, sloppy waves rocked boats and washed over beaches. The National Weather Service recorded that waves hit 4 feet in Crescent City, 3 feet in Arena Cove, 2.6 feet in Point Reyes and 1.2 feet in San Francisco. Sometimes the waves were propelled atop high tides, increasing their power.
In Crescent City, an important fishing hub where underwater geology creates a unique vulnerability to tsunamis, surging waves tested its rebuilt harbor. The harbor was destroyed in 2011 by a tsunami triggered by a disastrous earthquake in Japan. On Wednesday morning, city officials reported that one dock was destroyed, but that was by design.
Eric Wier, city manager of Crescent City, said this week's tsunami had the potential to deliver as much destructive power as that in 2011, and he believed the new underwater pilings absorbed some of the impact and prevented further damage.
By mid-morning Wednesday, officials had lifted evacuation warnings across much of the Pacific Rim, though advisories urging caution remained for some areas of California, Hawaii and Oregon.
On Wednesday afternoon, Wier said the Del Norte County coast was still experiencing 'dramatic fluctuations in ocean levels.' He said the tsunami brought 4 feet of water on top of a 4-foot tide, turning harbor waters into a dangerous sloshing bathtub with strong, swirling currents.
Matthew Kidwell, lead meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Eureka, said Wednesday morning that tsunami waves could continue well into Thursday.