Five-year anniversary of Santa Cruz Harbor tsunami triggered by Japan earthquake

It’s been five years since Japan was hit with a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing nearly 20,000 people.

Five-thousand miles way, the tsunami also damaged much of the Santa Cruz Harbor. The disaster served as a reminder of our vulnerabilities when it comes to tsunamis.

“We’re equipped for earthquakes, we’re equipped fire, we’re equipped for floods. But tsunami isn’t something most Santa Cruz residents and California residents are really thinking of or really have in their mindset,” said Rosemary Anderson with the Santa Cruz County Office of Emergency Services.

The video of surges of water crashing into the harbor, crushing everything in its path, is just as powerful five years later. In the end, there was $20 million in damages, countless boats destroyed and for some, the harbor was home.

“For me it isn’t my weekend getaway. It’s definitely my life and everything that I own is pretty much on there,” said one man who lost his boat in the 2011 tsunami.

But it started thousands of miles away in Japan after a 9.0 earthquake shook the city of Tohoku and triggered the tsunami. Fifteen-thousand people died and the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant was damaged.

Five years later, the Santa Cruz Harbor has since been restored. But county leaders said the threat of another tsunami is always there. Anderson said residents need to know it they’re living in a tsunami zone, have an evacuation plan and keep up with emergency alerts.

“We always have advance warning. It isn’t like an earthquake or other kinds of natural disasters. We’ll always have plenty of warning, we just want people to heath the warning when they get it,” said Anderson.

One warning could be those little blue and white signs near your home that say “Tsunami Hazard Zone.” Anderson said areas that would be most affected by a tsunami include the harbor, Twin Lakes Beach and Rio Del Mar.

“Is it a concern where we would want people to stay away from our county or not come and enjoy our beautiful county? No. But to just be aware of what some of the dangers really are and how you can best prepare yourself,” said Anderson.