By Khalida Sarwari
Watching powerful waves roll underneath the Santa Cruz Harbor docks, some old and rotting and others new, one longtime maintenance worker this morning lamented the damage left by a tsunami sparked by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast of Japan on Thursday night.
“We are just getting our whole harbor wrecked,” Eileen Sundet said. “This is just so sad.”
Sundet, who had the day off from work, left behind her tools and brought along a camera to capture the large chunks of debris floating in the harbor, where earlier this morning a sailboat crashed into a nearby bridge.
Santa Cruz police Deputy Chief Steve Clark said at least 20 boats sunk and more than 100 were damaged. He estimated that the surges have caused $4.5 million in damage to the vessels and more than $10 million in damage to the harbor itself.
No injuries have been reported, Clark said.
Sundet was one of about 200 residents who stood awestruck every time surges of water caused docks to rattle and boats to come loose and crash into each other, their voices competing with the whirring of three helicopters hovering over the harbor.
Manuel Rangel, a waiter at El Jardin restaurant on Capitola Road, said he had not witnessed anything like this in the 10 years he has lived in Santa Cruz.
Shortly after he arrived around 10 a.m., Rangel said he saw the water rush from the back of the harbor and “made all the boats smash into each other.”
“One little boat flipped over,” he recalled.
Robin Gallo, a retired construction worker who lives a mile away from the harbor, came over on his bicycle as soon as he found out about the tsunami warning this morning.
“As we stood and watched, we saw the water rise up and the boats and docks shifting,” Gallo said.
An advisory evacuation order went into effect at about 6 a.m. for beachfront homes near the harbor. Clark said the order was lifted at 5 p.m. and that residents will be allowed to return to their homes.
“The worst has passed at this point,” he said. “We feel it’s starting to subside.”
Authorities will continue to monitor the harbor, municipal wharf, and beach area, Clark said.