Party in banquet: 2011 Tsunami Destroyed Crescent City Harbor

Goodbye Harbor, Hello Disaster

Crescent City, California, a sleepy little seaport village on the coast near the Oregon border suffered yet another disaster in the wake of the Japanese earthquake in early 2011. This was not the first time the harbor had been destroyed, nor was it the worst tidal wave the city suffered, but the economic impact will continue to be felt long after the clean-up has been completed.

Crescent City is my home town and although I live far away, most of my family still resides there. This lens is intended to be a place for me to gather all the information I can find that's relevant to this situation, and as such, will grow and develop over time. If you experienced this tragedy, I encourage you to share your story below. If you have information I've overlooked, there is a place for you to share that, and if you would like to share greetings and cheer the good people of Crescent City on, there's a place for that, as well.

Google Maps

Where the Redwoods Meet The Sea

Address: 101 Citizens Dock Rd, Crescent City, CA 95531, USA

The Harbor Has Always Been the Heart of the Town

Crescent City is built around the first natural harbor north of the San Francisco Bay

This is a photo I took while at the harbor for one of the car shows that is held there each year by a local car club. The harbor is a popular place for festivals, although in recent years the number has been reduced in large part due to the high costs of insurance.

Harbor before the Tsunami

View from above

This photo is part of a Google Earth photo, I believe. It came to me by email. As you can see, the inner boat basin was full when this photo was taken. I don't think it was quite that full when the Tsunami hit, but only because there have been so many other problems with the fisheries and I'm not entirely sure that the damage from the small tsunami in 2006 was ever totally repaired. However, you can see from this photo how the inner boat basin was set up - it really puts the next photo into perspective.

Crescent City Harbor Inner Boat Basin AFTER the 2011 Tsunami

Quite a difference, yes?

This photo also came to me by email, so I am not sure who took it, but it shows how little of the harbor remains. This is a HUGE blow to the entire community.

If you would like to help the city rebuild the harbor:

Donations gladly accepted here:

City of Crescent City
attention: Harbor Relief Fund
377 J St.
Crescent City, CA. 95531

Donations in any amount gladly accepted

Links to photos and other stories

Destruction from Tsunami in Crescent City, CA Harbor - CNN iReport: These are pictures taken the day after the tsunami that totally destroyed Crescent City, CA's harbor on March 11, 2011. (Ten photos, one short report)
Unified Command responders survey tsunami damage: US Coast Guard surveys of several harbors, including Crescent City's.

News about Crescent City's Tsunami Damage

Santa Cruz harbor to share in $6M labor grant: Tsunami recovery efforts ...: Crescent City's harbor in Del Norte County sustained about $20 million in damage from the March 11 tsunami that was triggered by a 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Japan. As pile driving work began Monday, Harbormaster Chuck Izenstark said the pace of ...
Assembly passes Chesbro tsunami relief bill: ... for 100 percent of costs by having the state pick up the entire amount not covered by the federal government under the California Disaster Assistance Act. The Crescent City Harbor suffered about $20 million in damage when the tsunami struck. ...
Harbor hires itself a specialist: Crescent City Harbor commissioners have decided to hire an attorney in hopes of speeding up the process of rebuilding the tsunami-damaged harbor. Commissioners authorized city attorney Bob Black to negotiate a contract with attorney Fred Kelly Grant ...
USA: Dredging on Crescent City Harbor Begins in Three Months: Outside help is being sought by harbor commissioners to expedite repairs to Crescent City Harbor from damage caused by the March 11 tsunami. During Wednesday's special meeting, commissioners moved to consult with an attorney experienced in getting ...

Eleven people perished in the 1964 Tidal Wave at Crescent City

Rare Footage of the 1964 Tidal Wave (now called tsunami)

Video from YouTube - uploaded by mcab1993

Videos from YouTube featuring the 2011 Tsunami

A Live Feed of 10 videos based on keywords "Crescent City harbor damage"

Crescent City Harbor Tsunami Damage.mov: by 29thframe | video info

14 ratings | 16,112 views

automatically generated by YouTube

The Del Norte Triplicate is the Local Newspaper in Crescent City

This is an RSS feed of the headlines

I was not able to sort headlines by tsunami related articles only, so this will include obituaries and other news of note. However, as I find specific news links I'll be adding them to the links list above. Until then, this will have to do.

Dock plan mulled: Harbor district eyes SF docks for short termCrescent City Harbor commissioners have passed a resol...
Grant will not work for harbor or airport: Attorney says he will work with the countyIdaho attorney Fred Kelly Grant decided Thursday he won&...
It could be a long wait for summer: Current cool pattern is likely to continueAfter a couple of days of some blue skies, rain is likel...
Sheriff's Logs published June 04, 2011
Police Logs published June 03, 2011
Coastal Voices: Thoughts on city budget: Regarding the May 26 article covering the second budget workshop ("City still looks for cutbac...
Letters to the Editor June 03, 2011: Please be on the lookout for stolen wind turbine equipmentOur family lived in Crescent City for ab...
Del Norte Gardening: Early planting may be a bust, but don?t give up: Well, it looks like this is another spring in Del Norte County where planting your garden is going t...
Computer classrooms: Reaching out to 'digitally native' schoolchildrenTaking a break from their own classro...
Westfall loses again in lawsuit: Councilwoman: 'It's not over by a long shot'A federal judge has ruled that Cresc...

I've made other lenses about Crescent City & surrounding area

you may find these interesting ... I hope so!


Drive THROUGH a Giant Redwood: If you have never been to the pacific northwest and gazed up through the canopy of a redwood forest, you have nothing in your experience with which to under...
Crescent City, California - Come Back Town USA: Crescent City, California is nestled between the majestic redwood forest and the Pacific Ocean only 21 miles south of the Oregon border. Home to the only na...
St George Reef Lighthouse: The stormy seas of the Pacific Northwest were made a little safer after the wreck of the Brother Jonathan near Crescent City, California, because the St. Ge...
What happened to the Wonder Stump, I wonder?: There was a natural wonder here in Del Norte County called "the Wonder Stump" and 50 years it was well known in the area. I knew about it in high school, an...