# Damage to boats in CA following Japan quake **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420 "2011-03-12T16:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/21 "2011-03-14T18:59:06Z")
Yeah. We had some surfers out (San Diego county) wanting to catch some gnarley waves. No one got hurt here, though. The surge was about a foot, and a lot of folks didn’t notice much of a difference. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/22 "2011-03-14T19:05:38Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > See, the problem with living in California is Californians. If you tell them there’s a tusnami coming, they rush to the beach to see it. If you tell them there’s a wild fire burning, they rush to see it. I’ll bet if the government announced a nuclear test, they’d camp at ground zero so as not to miss the blast. > > A guy was killed in the tsunami in CA. He was killed because he went to the mouth of the Columbia river to take pictures of the tsunami coming in. He was last seen riding the surge out to sea. Klamath River. The Columbia River is in Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/23 "2011-03-14T19:08:45Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > A guy was killed in the tsunami in CA. He was killed because he went to the mouth of the Columbia river to take pictures of the tsunami coming in. He was last seen riding the surge out to sea. Did they find his camera? 'Cause I bet he got some _amazing_ pictures! (I’m only still here 'cause they haven’t found a handbasket big enough for me yet.) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/24 "2011-03-14T19:14:24Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Although by “harmless,” doesn’t the water still speed by at tsunami speed, just all underwater? Doesn’t that hurt fish and stuff? The wave is only a foot or two high in deep water. It’s experienced by the fish and boats like a small rise in the ocean and subsequent fall. It’s not like getting hit by a 500 MPH, 2 foot high wall of water. You might not even notice it as a wave. Keep in mind that water isn’t moving at that speed, the wave front is moving. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/25 "2011-03-14T19:22:35Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > See, the problem with living in California is Californians. If you tell them there’s a tusnami coming, they rush to the beach to see it. If you tell them there’s a wild fire burning, they rush to see it. I’ll bet if the government announced a nuclear test, they’d camp at ground zero so as not to miss the blast. > > A guy was killed in the tsunami in CA. He was killed because he went to the mouth of the Columbia river to take pictures of the tsunami coming in. He was last seen riding the surge out to sea. Well he wasn’t killed in CA at the mouth of the Columbia, unless they moved the river when I wasn’t looking. I think you are referring to this news item: [http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci\_17605586](http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_17605586) The Klamath. He’d just moved there from Bend, OR. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420/26 "2011-03-14T19:29:25Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Keep in mind that water isn’t moving at that speed, the wave front is moving. This bears repeating. It isn’t that the water off the coast of Japan came running all the way to California; it’s that the shock wave came running through the water all the way to California. It pushes the water up as it passes; when it gets to shallow water, the pushed-up water (there in Cali) runs up on the land. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damage-to-boats-in-ca-following-japan-quake/574420.md?page=1)