Tsunami: Santa Cruz braces for more damage

Santa Cruz officials are bracing for more damage into the afternoon as high tide is expected to hit around 4 p.m.

As a precautionary measure, police have closed roads around the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, municipal wharf and yacht harbor, said Santa Cruz Police Department Deputy Chief Steve Clark.

Already, waves have "capsized several boats" at the yacht harbor, Clark said, and authorities expect more damage.

So far, no tsunami-related injuries have been reported in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County spokesman Enrique Sahagun said the first waves reached land about 7:45 a.m. At Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, the swells pushed and bumped boats together and broke some docks, but total damage is unknown thus far, Sahagun said.

"The water is pushing the boats together like a major car collision on Highway 405 or another big highway," he said.

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-- Shan Li

Photo: A boat is partially submerged in the harbor in Santa Cruz. Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez

Comments

[Debbie Meno]

Prayers to all around the globe especially those affected by the tsunami here in the Pacific Region. I am from Guam too!

[Braces San Diego]

An obvious, but nonetheless reliable option is to ask an orthodontist or periodontist you may know or receive care from. These people are in a similar field and should know plenty of oral physicians to pass along to their clients.

[Dan McDow]

It's incredible that this tsunami has reached so many lives on completely different sides of the planet. Although I feel that it's terrible for harbor lovers here in California, I'm not sure that I agree with Brown's "State of Emergency" declaration. Sanpei, Japan is in a severe state of emergency and need help from the world right now, the same way I hope that they would help if we needed THEM. These damages suffered by the cast off from a major world disaster are mild at best and local insurance is designed for that type of mild destruction. A "State of Emergency" declaration is geared at opening doors to federal aid. The federal system doesn't exactly have the resources to "Aid" at the moment. Let's allow the local insurances to cover those local damages.