CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — Town leaders in the Northern California commercial fishing village of Crescent City hope last year's tsunami is among the last of many that forced major repairs.
They're spending $54 million to build the West Coast's first harbor able to withstand the kind of tsunami expected to hit once every 50 years — the same kind that hit in 2011 after the massive Japanese earthquake. It sank 11 boats, damaged 47 others and destroyed two-thirds of the harbor's docks.
Since a tidal gauge was installed in the boat basin in 1934, the small port has been hit by 34 tsunamis, large and small. It typically suffers the most damage and the highest waves on the West Coast.
The improvements include 244 new steel pilings and a dock to dampen incoming waves.
