Tsunami — Curry County Coast, Oregon

2011-03-11 to 2011-03-12 · Curry County Coast, Oregon

Event narrative

The first of a series of surges caused by the tsunami struck Port Orford at 07:11 PDT. The maximum recorded amplitude was 2.02 meters which occurred around the seventh surge. On the US West Coast, the only station that recorded a higher surge was Crescent City CA with a 2.47m amplitude. The surges gradually subsided during the next few days. Major damage occurred at the Brookings Harbor, where 40% of the floating docks were destroyed and many boats were damaged or destroyed. Docks, pilings, and channel buoys were also damaged at Gold Beach OR. Four men were pulled into the ocean at Pistol River. Two were rescued while the other two made it back to shore on their own.

Wider weather episode

A catastrophic earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale occurred just off the coast of Japan on 03/11/2011. This earthquake generated a Pacific-wide tsunami. This tsunami struck the US west coast late in the morning on 03/11/2011. No loss of life occurred in Oregon, but several ports and the boats in them were damaged.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 281655. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.