1964 — March 28, Tsunamis, ~Newport, OR (4), Crescent City (11), Requa (1), CA — 16
California, Crescent City (11)
–11 Drye. “California Tsunami Victims Recall 1964’s Killer Waves.” Nat. Geographic News, 2005.
–11 Jones and Lubow. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of California. 2006, p. 113.
–11 Sokolowski. The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964. No date.
–11 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 2008 update.
California, Requa, at Klamath River mouth ( 1)
–1 Sokolowski. The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964. No date.
Oregon, Depoe Bay beach ( 4)
–4 Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Crescent City hunts 15 missing in ruins…” 3-30-1964, p. 1.
–4 Sokolowski. The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964. No date.
–4 Sullivan. Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters. 208, p. 37.[1]
–4 USGS. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes, 2008 update.
Crescent City, CA — Narrative Information
Drye: “Their waterfront town of about 7,500 was devastated when a tsunami swept in from the Pacific Ocean early on March 28, 1964. The business district was leveled, and 11 people were killed.
“On the afternoon of March 27, 1964, Alaska was shaken by an earthquake… Life magazine reported that the quake unleashed “more than 2,000 times the power of the mightiest nuclear bomb ever detonated and 400 times the total of all nuclear bombs ever exploded.” From its center beneath Prince William Sound, the quake sent a tsunami rippling across the Pacific and down the coasts of Canada and the United States. Crescent City was a sitting duck for these waves,,,
One survivor “was in his family’s bar celebrating his father’s 54th birthday with his parents, his fiancé, and a few friends when a 21-foot (6.4-meter) wave swept into the harbor. “We were in the tavern when the wall of water came in,” he recalled. “It took the building away, probably went back 100 yards [about 100 meters] or so.”…. when the deadly wave receded, it sucked the occupants into a large culvert….
“Dawn’s light revealed stupefying destruction. Crescent City’s business district was gone, and fuel tanks near the harbor were afire. Automobiles, debris, and the ruins of buildings were piled in seaweed-covered heaps. “When daylight came, we were just dumbfounded,” [Crescent City Civil Defense Director Bill] Parker said. “We couldn’t believe what we were seeing.”
“Crescent City is the only town in the continental United States where people have been killed by a tsunami. Reminders of the tragedy are abundant in the town, and residents take tsunami warnings very seriously.” (Drye 2005)
March 28: “Crescent City, Calif — A Tidal wave crushed downtown Crescent City early today, took at least 10 lives and ravaged 56 square blocks along its unprotected waterfront. The five-foot high sledgehammer wave, generated by the Alaskan quake, battered down walls, knocked out power and ignited fires which blew up five oil tanks and destroyed numerous businesses. A Del Norte sheriff’s spokesman said more dead were expected to be found in the rubble left by the receding water which crashed against a 14-block strip of Front Street and surged four blocks deep into this Northern California city of 3,000 persons….
“Sheriff’s spokesmen said National Guard troops and policemen were patrolling the disaster area to guard against looting and keep sightseers out. A Red Cross disaster shelter was set up at the county fairgrounds outside of town.
“Crescent City, which sits on a low rim of ground facing the ocean, had no barriers to break the force of the tidal waves.
“Sheriff Oswald Hovgaard said that every one of the city’s 150 downtown shops sustained some damage from the force of the waves.
“Sheriff’s Deputy Eleanor Parson said the wave hit a tavern full of people badly damaging it and nearby buildings. She added that witnesses reported seeing five bodies floating in nearby Elk Creek.
“The water not only flooded the streets, but it knocked out power and set off the five oil tanks at the Hussey Texaco plant. The tanks, each 10 feet in diameter — blew up one by one. Another nearby oil facility, the Union 76 plant, was reported out of danger as the fire began to burn itself out.
“Reports said the fire destroyed the Nickols Pontiac agency and damaged numerous other buildings in the heart of the downtown area.
“The city was flooded from two sides. A lot of the water went up Elk Creek along the edge of town and then back-washed to create flooding in an inland 4-by-8 block area. Gas mains ruptured and power lines burst. Several downtown office buildings slid off their foundations….
“59 are treated for injuries…” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tidal wave kills 10 at Crescent City.” 3-28-1964, p. 1.)
Requa, mouth of Klamath River, CA — Narrative Information
Sokolowski: “1 man drowned.” (The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964.)
March 29: “Klamath–A U.S. Air Force sergeant is missing and presumed dead yesterday after he was swept out to sea by a tidal wave which struck the mouth of the Klamath River here at 12:09 a.m. Beach parties from the Requa-based 777th Radar Squadron, aided by Del Norte sheriff’s deputies, searched the river sides and the beaches yesterday in vain for Sgt. Donald McClure, 33, of Akron, Ohio….
“McClure and another airman, Sgt. Stuart Harrington, 32, were eel fishing in the mouth of the Klamath River at midnight, when the first wave, which had hit Crescent City, struck Requa. Both men were swept off their feet and carried, amid tons of debris, up the river estuary about one-half mile….” (Humboldt Times, Eureka, CA. “Wave Takes Airman Out to Sea.” 3-29-1964, p. 1.)
Depoe Bay beach, OR — Narrative Information
Sokolowski, The Great Alaskan Earthquake/Tsunamis…1964. “4 campers on beach drowned.”
Newspapers
March 28: “Depoe Bay, Ore. — Wave rolls over a Tacoma, Wash., family; one child drowns; three persons missing.” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tidal waves.” 3-28-1964, p. 1.)
March 30: “….Three children were swept out to sea when a wave swept them off a beach at Depoe Bay, Ore. Another was drowned on the each. All were the children of Monte McKenzie of Tacoma, Wash. The Coast Guard said it would start a search today for th missing children, Louis, 8, Bobby 7, and Tammy 3.” (Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Crescent City hunts 15 missing in ruins…” 3-30-1964, p. 1.)
Sources
Drye, Willie. “California Tsunami Victims Recall 1964’s Killer Waves.” National Geographic News. Accessed at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/45064186.html
Humboldt Times, Eureka, CA. “Wave Takes Airman Out to Sea.” 3-29-1964, p. 1. Accessed 11-29-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/eureka-humboldt-times-mar-29-1964-p-1/
Jones, Ray and Joe Lubow. Disasters and Heroic Rescues of California: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Guilford CT: Insiders Guide, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press, 2006.
Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Crescent City hunts 15 missing in ruins…” 3-30-1964, p. 1. Accessed 11-29-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-mar-30-1964-p-1/
Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tidal wave kills 10 at Crescent City.” 3-28-1964, p. 1. Accessed 11-29-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-mar-28-1964-p-1/
Press-Courier, Oxnard, CA. “Tidal waves.” 3-28-1964, p. 1. Accessed 11-29-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oxnard-press-courier-mar-28-1964-p-1/
Sokolowski, Thomas J. The Great Alaskan Earthquake & Tsunamis of 1964. Palmer, Alaska: West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, National Warning Service, NOAA, no date. Accessed 12-22-2008 at: http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/web_tsus/19640328/64quake.htm
Sullivan, William L. Oregon’s Greatest Natural Disasters. Eugene, OR: Navillus Press, 2008.
United States Geological Survey. Deaths in the United States from Earthquakes (Website). July 16, 2008 update. Accessed at: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/us_deaths.php
Additional Reading
Powers, Dennis. The Raging Sea: The Powerful Account of the Worst Tsunami in U.S. History. Sea Ventures Press, 2015.
[1] Notes that Ricky McKenzie, 6, was found dead by father on the beach. His other three children had been swept out to sea “without a trace.” The family had been camping on the beach. Wife survived as well as husband.