3/11/2011 7:44:00 AM


UPDATE: No damage from tsunami surge on Washington coast

Waterfront Port Townsend apartment building evacuated as a precaution

Admiralty Apartments evacuated on Port Townsend waterfront
Here in Port Townsend, the Admiralty Apartments along the downtown waterfront were evacuated Friday morning with residents boarding a Jefferson Transit bus.

If a tsunami surge were to make it down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Port Townsend area, the hazard area would be beaches, docks and boats, said Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management Director Hamlin noted. Recommended protective action is to stay away from the immediate waterfront.

According to a Department of Natural Resources geologist, Hamlin said "a distant tsunami (like this one from Japan) will have little impact on inland waters" such as Puget Sound. "The highest risk would be a locally generated tsunami such as one originating in Puget Sound or Whidbey Island."

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UPDATED 1 p.m. Friday
No damage from a tsunami surge has been reported in Jefferson County, and the local Emergency Operations Center closed as of noon today, Friday.

The official "tsunami advisory" was issued here after a magnitude-8.9 quake off the east coast of Honshu, Japan, triggered a 23-foot tsunami and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks, many of them more than magnitude 6.0. The quake occurred at 2:46 p.m. Japanese time.

The National Weather Service's Alaska West Coast Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami advisory for coastal regions of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California. As of 1 p.m., it was still active. (See the link before for details).

Here on the Olympic Peninsula, officials reported the top wave height (it was the second wave) was measured at .4 meters (1.4 feet) at Port Angeles, Wash. at 9:15 a.m. March 11.

"That is .4 meters measured relative to normal sea level," noted Bob Hamlin, manager of the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management, in an update posted at noon. "It appears from all indications that the wave sequence has ended. No further observations were received, and there were no reports of damage on the outer coast or along the Strait."

On the Washington Coast, It's been reported that emergency management officials asked residents near the ocean at Moclips, Pacific Beach, Iron Springs and Taholah to move to higher ground.

Tsunami sirens on the Oregon Coast were activated and people evacuated from low-lying coastal areas. Some schools along the Oregon coast changed schedules.

First wave

The National Weather Service reported the first tsunami wave came ashore in Washington shortly after 7 a.m. measuring 1.7 feet at La Push, about half a foot at Neah Bay and Port Angeles, and 1.3 feet at Westport.

A tsunami surge came ashore on the Oregon coast about 7:30 a.m. The National Weather Service was warning of a possible 4.5-foot surge at Clatsop Spit, 3.7-feet at Cannon Beach and 1.3-feet on Washington's Long Beach Peninsula.

In Alaska, the tsunami produced a wave of more than 5 feet at Shemya in the Aleutian Islands 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Tsunami definitions
Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant widespread inundation is imminent or expect. A warning means dangerous coastal flooding accompanied by powerful currents is possible, and may continue for several hours after an initial wave.

Tsunami advisories mean that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or very near the water is expected. Significant widespread inundations is not expected for areas under a tsunami advisory.

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