Tsunami causes nearly $1M in damages to Crescent City dock after massive earthquake in Russia

CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- A Crescent City dock sustained nearly $1 million in damages after it was struck by a tsunami generated by a massive 8.8 magnitude quake that struck off the coast of Russia Tuesday, according to city officials.

The Crescent City Harbor District released new photos Friday showing the extent of the damage.

RELATED: Tsunami warnings, watches, advisories were given to 1/4 of the Earth after 8.8 quake

Crescent City recorded waves of up to 4 feet early Wednesday - the highest recorded anywhere in the continental United States.

A surge of water lifted the dock off its pilings around 2:40 a.m., eventually submerging it, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker said at a news briefing. The dock was engineered to disrupt the waves' force before they reach the inner harbor and appears to have functioned as intended, he said.

Officials say the dock and a few other areas of the harbor have significant damage - particularly to electrical, water, and fire suppression utility systems.

Some of the repairs will need to be made underwater.

There's no word yet on how long that could take.

City has been tsunami magnet for centuries

Crescent City is highly susceptible to tsunamis because of an underwater ridge, just offshore, known as the Mendocino Fracture Zone. The ridge funnels tsunamis into deeper water where they pick up speed before they hit the town. Forty-one tsunamis have been observed or recorded since the first tide gauge was installed in Crescent City in 1933.

The oral history of local native peoples, geologic evidence and the written records of people elsewhere in the Pacific Rim suggest that tsunamis have battered this shoreline for centuries, according to city records.

The 1964 event, considered the worst tsunami disaster recorded in the United States, began with a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, according to the Crescent City website. Three small waves caused little damage, but then a big wave - nearly 21 feet (6.40 meters) - devastated 29 city blocks.

The quake caused 15 deaths, and the ensuing tsunami caused 124 deaths: 106 in Alaska, 13 in California and 5 in Oregon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information.

Crescent City rebuilt downtown, and today a walking tour highlights high-water marks posted on surviving buildings, objects pushed by waves and memorials to those who died.

A tsunami caused by the March 2011 earthquake in Japan killed one person in Crescent City and damaged the harbor.

Max Blair, a volunteer at the Del Norte Historical Society, which manages the town's museum and historic lighthouse, said locals have tsunami drills at least once a year. When there is danger of one, cellphone notifications go out and the tsunami sirens in the town sound warnings. Resident then turn to KCRE radio for information, Blair said.

If ordered to evacuate, people move to higher ground, normally the town's Walmart about 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) from the shore.

"We evacuate if it's forecast to be a big wave. But the first wave was coming in at low tide and it was only a couple feet, so we just have to stay away from the beach," Blair said.

The city's website warns that a tsunami could happen anytime. Since most of downtown is in the tsunami run-up zone, if there were a near-shore earthquake, people would only have minutes to reach safety. Thirty-two tsunamis have been observed in the city since 1933, including five that caused damage.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.