Tsunami deals blow to Calif. town

Associated Press

CRESCENT CITY, Calif.

Fishermen who had escaped to sea before the tsunami hit this struggling coastal town landed small loads of crab Saturday, while crews surveyed damage and a family combed the beach for any sign of a man who was swept away a day ago as he photographed the waves.

“This harbor is the lifeblood of our community and the soul of our community,” said Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson as he looked across what was left of the Crescent City boat basin, which last year saw landings of crab and fish worth $12.5 million.

The region never really has recovered from the loss of the timber industry in the 1980s and 1990s, and downturns in salmon fishing, said Wilson, who fished on his father’s boats as a young man.

“It’s going to be hard to recover here,” he said.

A series of powerful surges generated by the devastating earthquake in Japan arrived about 7:30 a.m. Friday and pounded the harbor through the day and night. Waves funneled into the sheltered docks created furious currents that heaved up docks, broke loose boats, and sent them careening around like billiard balls.

Eight are believed sunk, and one damaged. An unmanned sailboat sucked out of the harbor ran aground on the coast.

Among the losses was Dustin Weber of Bend, Ore., who was swept away Friday as he and two friends watched the waves.

The Coast Guard has suspended the search for the 25-year-old man, whose friends had tried to save him when the surge came.