[UPDATE: National Tsunami Week] Tsunami Watch OC: Crowds Gathering to Catch Glimpse of Tsunami, But Not Much to See


UPDATE, MARCH 16, 5:32 P.M.: To the people of Japan and even (to a lesser extent) the seafaring folk in Santa Cruz, the Weekly sends its best regards for a full recovery. The devastation that has rocked and continues to rock Japan is unlike anything we ever hope to see again in a lifetime. They need a lot of help, and it is on all of us to contribute in whatever small way possible, since we'd hope others would do the same if it were us in that position.

That said, Orange County spent its Friday morning on “Tsunami Watch.” Media outlets throughout the county and the state were on alert, sending out warnings and updates of the doom and gloom that may result (did anyone else catch the B-squad CNN commentators putting everyone on high-alert? We figured Anderson Cooper must have been on a direct flight to Tokyo. Here's one fictional account of what went down in the CNN newsroom). It was quite a spectacle.

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But it never really came for anyone south of Los Angeles County. A few minor tidal surges, none more devastating than the natural incoming and outgoing tide. But people skipped school and work and hung out within viewing distance of the ocean. Had an actual tsunami come through, our curiosity could have led to perilous results.
It seems like a weird coincidence that next week is National Tsunami Awareness and Preparedness Week, coming so soon after the world was stunned by what hit Japan. We should consider ourselves fortunate. And we should do what we can to best prepare for what can and may come. Just use this state-run website, My Hazards, to determine what natural disasters may strike your city. 
Enjoy the next few nights of restless sleep and unpleasant dreams. 

UPDATE, MARCH 11, 2:15 P.M.: The Orange County Emergency Operation Center issued a statement that all of the beaches, piers, harbors, roads and marinas throughout the county are officially open as of 1 p.m. 

There have been people walking and running and surfing around South County for a few hours now. In Dana Point, spectators saw nothing more than minimal surges of water that were most noticeable in the harbor. For images of other areas effected by the so-called tsunami, Surfline.com has some sequences of various parts of the state, including Santa Cruz beaches, where the tidal surges were more substantial.


UPDATE, MARCH 11, 11:59 A.M.: Photographer Keith May went to check out the non-tsunami tsunami at Newport Beach. Photos after the jump.

ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 11, 10:08 A.M.: Before crowds could gather at low-lying spots along the coast, the OC Sheriff's Department and OC Parks Department were quick to react and close down as many areas as possible that could be susceptible to any substantial tidal surge as a result of the 8.9 earthquake in Japan. 

As a result, crowds redirected to higher ground, where they could find a decent vantage point of whatever may happen. A couple of hundred people gathered on the bluff overlooking Strands Beach in Dana Point, watching for what news agencies were calling a “wall of water.”


One disappointed spectator was overhead leaving the bluff at Strands Beach, saying, “Well, that wasn't the biggest wall of water I've ever seen.”





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