Tsunami surge damages Crescent City harbor

A fishing boat lies on its side in shallow water in the boat basin at Crescent City, Calif., after a tsunami surge withdrew Friday. The surge broke loose and damaged most of the 35 boats that remained in the harbor.  (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

Rough waters are shown in the boat basin at Crescent City on Friday. A ferocious tsunami was unleashed by an earthquake that slammed into Japan’s eastern coast Friday, killing hundreds of people as it carried away ships, cars and homes, and triggered widespread fires that burned out of control. Hours later, the waves washed ashore on Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast, where evacuations were ordered from California to Washington but little damage was reported.  (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

Fishing boats crash into one another Friday in the boat basin at Crescent City as one of a series of tsunami surges slams into the harbor, breaking up docks and tearing loose boats.  (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

Driven by the force of a tsunami surge, a loose boat slams into another in the boat basin at Crescent City in Northern California.  (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

A Coast Guard helicopter flies above Pebble Beach in Crescent City on Friday, where onlookers watch for the predicted surges of a tsunami. The first small surge was spotted at 7:38 a.m. and continued.  (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)

A tsunami warning is posted along Highway 17 leading to the coastal town of Santa Cruz, Calif.  (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

People watch the beach at Santa Monica on Friday as tsunami warnings were issued along the West Coast following the 8.9 earthquake off the east coast of Japan.  (Valerie Macon / AFP / Getty Images)