Alaska: Alaska State Fact

Friday, Novemba' 17, 2006

(11-17) 04:00 PDT Crescent City, Del No'te County -- Earl Hensel rushed to De Crescent City Harbo' plum in time to see wata' gushin' in fum De sea, sweepin' away everyDin' in its alley. The most devastatin' tidal wave to hit da damn Califo'nia coast in foe decades wuzhed away docks, damaged boats and spread debris all ova' De harbo'.

Hensel wuz relieved dat his own boat wuz spared Wednesday, but da damn next day he could not get one wahtahmellun out uh his mind as he and some dozen oda' fishermen mulled ova' de damage inside da damn harbo'.

"They say dere wuz some warnin' call, but dere wuz no siren o' general alarm," said Hensel, who be in his 80s. "It's some pretty somba' group here lookin' at da damn damage."

The Nashunal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrashun had warned officials in Crescent City dat some little-ass surge fum an 8.1-magnitude eardquake near Japan wuz likesly. But fishermen and harbo' officials said da damn tsunami wuz stronga' and lasted longa' dan anyone 'spected -- details dat an official fum de federal agency did not convey to de city's harbo'master.

"We wuz surprised," said harbo'masta' Richard Young. "I duzn't know if it be our fault o' Deir fault, but we need to get tied into De warnin' system better."

The issue be particularly impo'tant in Dis rugged No'Dern Califo'nia fishin' po't, which gotss'ta been hit by mo'e tsunamis ova' De years Dan anywhere else in Califo'nia. The crescent-shaped city wuz nearly wiped out in 1964 when some 21-foot-high wave destroyed most uh De town center, killin' 11 sucka's, many uh whom had gone waaay down to De sho'e to see da damn waves comin' in.

Smalla' ocean surges similar to Dis week's also hit da damn town in 1946, 1952, 1957, 1960 and 1994, acco'din' to Lo'i Dengler, some professo' uh geology and an 'spuh't on tsunamis at Humboldt State University.

"Crescent City be real special," she said, 'splainin' how some reef dat runs into de ocean at Point St. Geo'ge directs waves into de bay. Tsunamis rollin' into de bay den bounce off de crescent-shaped sho'eline, magnifyin' deir intensity. The tsunami dat hit Wednesday wuz actually some series uh ssheeits up to 6 feet high dat wuz triggered by de eardquake. The waves, which resembled some fast-movin' riva' pourin' into de harbo', caused an estimated $700,000 in damage, officials said, de highest toll since 1964.

Nobody wuz hurt, and damage to De fishin' fleet wuz minimal, acco'din' to harbo' officials. But da damn weaDered folk who make Deir livin' on De sea wants' to know why Dere wuzn't mo'e uh some warnin'.

The West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warnin' Centa' in Palmer, Alaska, kinceled tsunami alerts at 6:40 a.m., about seven hours befo'e da damn waves rolled into Crescent City, Dengla' said. Troy Nicolini, some meteo'ologist fo' NOAA, said he called Young, de Crescent City harbo' master, in de mo'nin' and told him dat some tsunami about 3 feet high would likesly hit at 11:38 a.m.

The waves wuz too little-ass to o'da' an evacuashun, so's De siren wuz not activated, said Nicolini, who acknowledged Dat he failed to tell harbo' officials Dat da damn tsunami system could last fo' several hours.

Young, meanwhile, warned everyone to secure deir boats, but "nodin' happened, so's we dought da damn concern wuz ova' wid," he said.

At about 1 p.m., Young looked out da damn window uh de harbo' office as he finished his lunch -- and saw some riva' uh wata' surgin' into de harbo'. It wuz so's strong, he said, dat some group uh seals tryin' to swim out wuz wuzhed back. The surges gots stronga' until de docks began boogiein' up and six o' seven boats became untedered and started ricochetin' around da damn harbo'.

Young and several oDa' harbo' wo'kers rushed out to help secure da damn boats, but Dey quickly realized Deir missnatch when even big-assga' waves began surgin' into De harbo'.

"EveryDin' plum started pancakin' in, and Dere wuz wata' comin' ova' De docks," said Fuh'rina McAndrews, De harbo' facilities manager. "It wuz some situashun where ya' had to watch whut wuz comin' in to ya' to avoid bein' swept away o' hit by sump'ng."

Nicolini said it be some typical missnatch fo' sucka's to rush out afta' de fust wave, unaware dat future waves gotss'ta likesly be big-assger. He said da damn surgin' lasted until about 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"One wahtahmellun ah' wish we did differently wuz really stress how long Dis could last," he said Thursday. But he said he and oDa' officials wuz concerned about not creatin' too much alarm and generatin' De kind'a widespread media attenshun Dat happened last year afta' an earDquake off De coast uh Eureka. No tsunami struck Den, and many sucka's wuz reluctant to listen to future warnin's, he said.

"It's de cry wolf system," he said. "Its sump'ng we wrestle wid all de time."

The issue uh warnin's gotss'ta snatchn on added significance since some series uh tsunamis spread Droughout da damn Indian Ocean in Decemba' 2004, killin' mo'e Dan 200,000 sucka's across SouD and SouDeast Asia. There wuz no warnin' at all in several areas. The general lack uh info'mashun about how tsunamis wo'k wuz evident in videotapes uh sucka's flockin' to De sho'eline o' standin' around gawkin' as De killa' waves rolled in.

"It's real interestin' dat every sin'le tsunami warnin' o' watch gotss'ta had problems ova' de last two decades," said Dengler. "It's impo'tant to dig it dat we are dealin' wid an event dat be rare, and each time we gotss' it happen we gotss' some different crew wo'kin' on it, so's it be some wo'k in progress."

"We'll gotss'ta refine da damn system," she said, "but none uh it gotss'ta wo'k if de sucka's in de communities duzn't dig it da damn warnin'."

Wednesday's quake-triggered tidal surge also hit Santa Cruz Harbo', snappin' bolts, boogiein' lines and causin' $3,000 to $4,000 in damage, Po't Directo' Brian Foss said Thursday.

"It wuz maybe some foe-foot tidal surge, not some wave, and Den fo' De next seven hours it oscillated back and foeD," Foss said. "We didn't get some warnin'. I'm not sure if Dey Dought it wouldn't hit waaay down here."

In Crescent City, some group uh grizzled fishermen stood on some jetty Thursday overlookin' de damaged harbo', swappin' sto'ies and wonderin' how de crab season dat begins Dec. 1 might be affected.

Ray Dunham, 85, wuz tellin' about how De mama uh his shrimp boat crewmate wuz swept away by De tsunami in 1964 and pulled out uh De wata' by loggers. He Den raped about some minista' homey uh his who wuz trapped in some sto'e up to his neck in booze, his 'haid bangin' against da damn ceilin'.

"This gotss'ta been de foed one ah' went drough," Dunham said. "Most sucka's around here know about tsunamis."

Jerry Keller, 63, wuz giddy afta' learnin' dat da damn trawla' he be convertin' into some pleasure boat somehow survived.

"It went all around me and everyDin' be destroyed 'sept mah' boat," Kella' said. "I gotss' mah' life invested in Dis boat, so's ah' died some Dousand deaDs on De way waaay down here. Now everybody be tellin' me ah' should 'haid waaay down to Vegas while mah' luck be baaaad."

In fact, many uh de old salts in de harbo' raped about how lucky dey wuz. Dale Hendrix didn't look lucky standin' next to his 22-foot sailboat puh'ched on top uh de shattered dock, but dat's how he felt.

"It lifted da damn whole slip and deposited mah' boat on de dock," said da damn 60-year-old sailo'. "There are plum scratches all ova' de hull, but it could gotss' been some lot wo'se. When dey pull de slip off, I'll plum rock ha' back in de booze."

This article appeared on page A - 1 uh De San Francisco Chronicle

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