SAN JOSE, Calif. — An undersea volcano that erupted Saturday in the Pacific Ocean near Tonga prompted tsunami advisories and evacuations along the West Coast including San Francisco and Monterey Bay where beaches closed as surging water flooded harbors and low-lying coastal areas.
The National Weather Service said the biggest tsunami threat to the West Coast in more than a decade could produce up to a couple feet of flooding at beaches and harbor areas as the waves arrived with the rising morning tide and continue pulsating onshore throughout the day.
“It’s not a one-and-done — this is an all-day type of event,” said Cynthia Palmer, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “We do expect these conditions to last for the better part of the day.”
There were no reports Saturday afternoon of major injuries locally, though two fishermen who were swept into the water at San Gregorio State Beach near Pescadero and swam back to shore were taken to a hospital, one by helicopter, where they were listed in stable condition. San Francisco firefighters were searching in the afternoon for a surfer in distress.
A tsunami advisory is the second-most severe alert, short of a warning to seek higher ground for dangerous flooding. A tsunami advisory urges people to stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways. Officials from around the region urged residents not to go near beaches, harbors or piers, while in Berkeley the fire department issued an evacuation order to the city’s Marina neighborhood.
In Santa Cruz, where the city harbor suffered $20 million in damage from a March 2011 tsunami that followed an earthquake in Japan, waves Saturday flooded the harbor parking lot with about 3 feet of water, dislodged a dredge, damaged boats and washed waste bins into the channel. The famed Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk nearby shut down for the day and a surfing competition was on hold at the city’s legendary Steamer Lane.
“The tide was rising incredibly rapidly, we could see the surge coming in,” said Karl Isacson, a Santa Cruz resident who watched the harbor flooding and also witnessed the damage in 2011, which he said was much worse.
In Marin County, the harbor in Tiburon also saw flooding.
Tsunami waves were expected to “arrive in pulses” throughout the day, the National Weather Service said, adding they would remain hazardous with the lowering afternoon tide.
“We still could see a foot or two of a tsunami amplitude come in even as the tide lowers and it can still run up the beach grab you, your pets, your family, your loved ones and take you out to sea as it recedes,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Garcia. “So it’s still a dangerous situation out there.”
The conditions were triggered by a volcanic eruption at Tongatapu, the largest island in Tonga, which saw its own large tsunami waves early Saturday. Satellites captured the massive eruption from space.
Along the West Coast, the weather service reported the highest waves as of 11:15 a.m. of 4.3 feet at Port San Luis near Avila Beach, and 3.7 feet at both Crescent City, once devastated by a 1964 tsunami, and Arena Cove in Mendocino County. Waves reached 2.9 feet at Point Reyes, 2.4 feet in Monterey, 1.1 feet in San Francisco, 0.9 feet in Alameda and 0.7 feet in Richmond.
Beaches closed up and down the coast. The Berkeley Fire Department ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents living at or near the city’s Marina neighborhood, though dozens of people remained near the launching docks.
“We’re not used to tsunamis around here,” said Berkeley resident Ben Hoz, a member of the Cal Sailing Club who was tying ropes around a sailboat with his friend, even though the club had officially closed for the day. “It’s kind of exciting. But if they get higher I’ll get out of here.”
Luigi Oldani of Oakland packed his children into their van and drove away after hearing the evacuation order.
“You don’t want to take that chance,” Oldani said.
Staff were still tallying the damage at the Santa Cruz Harbor, but Rick Melrose of the district staff said it appeared minor.
The tsunami threat prompted organizers to postpone a surfing contest at Santa Cruz’s legendary Steamer Lane near Lighthouse Point, where more than 100 surfers were supposed to compete this weekend.
“It’s a hard thing for all us surfers looking at beautiful, un-ridden waves,” Swayne said.
Connor Kryger, a 16-year-old surfer who drove six hours for the contest, was itching to get in the water despite the “really gnarly currents and stuff.”
“It’s really all I want right now,” he said.
Up the coast at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica, about a dozen people gathered to watch four surfers braving the high waves. Minda Yu of Berkeley was worried for them.
“They’re out of their mind!” Yu said.
Bay Area weather officials have long warned that tsunamis are a common occurrence in the region, and that bad ones, while rare, could still strike. They have advised that residents who live near the coast stay up to date on alerts and tsunami advisories like the one issued Saturday.
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