Tsunami hits California, no injuries or damage

SAN DIEGO — Tsunami waves from Chile's deadly earthquake hit California shores Saturday, barely eliciting notice from surfers who ignored advice to stay away from beaches. No injuries or significant property damage were reported.

The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said water surged 2.3 feet in Santa Monica shortly before 12:30 p.m. PST and 2.9 feet in Santa Barbara shortly after 5 p.m. PST. The tsunami hit with less force in other areas, including a 1.1-foot surge in San Diego, and as far north as La Push, Wash.

Authorities reported scattered unusual tidal surges in San Diego and Ventura north of Los Angeles. The California Emergency Management Agency received reports of varying turbulence up and down the coast, but nothing significant.

"It's a nonevent," said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

A tsunami advisory for all of the California coast was canceled at about 8 p.m. PST.

At San Diego's La Jolla Shores, the tide receded sharply after a small increase in wave heights, disappointing curious surfers and strollers who expected more. Lifeguards had warned swimmers about the tsunami but didn't order them to leave. All city beaches stayed open.

David Klein, a San Diego chiropractor, set up a tripod on a bench and recorded himself riding the paltry waves amid intermittent rain. When five or six small waves rolled in, he was convinced he had ridden a tsunami.

"They actually got big enough to surf on," he said, laughing. "If you blinked, you missed it."

Angelo Scolari, 49, went at the behest of his 17-year-old son.

"I'm more concerned about the rain than the surge," he said.

The Coast Guard recommended that people in San Diego avoid going near beaches or other low-lying coastal areas, especially jetties and rocky areas. It said large waves can quickly and unexpectedly sweep a person from those areas, easily overtaking even the strongest swimmers.

Boaters and swimmers largely stayed away, but crowds were probably sparse because it rained after several days of sunny weather, said Jetta Disco, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in San Diego.

Lt. John Eberhart of San Diego Lifeguard Services said there were unusual tidal surges in Mission Bay and La Jolla Cove, two popular tourist spots, but no reports of injuries or damage.

Ventura Fire Battalion Chief Matt Brock said there was a 3-foot tidal surge in the harbor that receded, causing a dock to become unmoored. A 15-foot boat on the dock was recovered without damage.

In Santa Monica, police Sgt. Jay Trisler said the surge didn't cause any problems.

In Northern California, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office closed beaches in Pacifica and Half Moon Bay.

A road at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge was closed for about a half-hour when high waves came crashing in, said Chris Powell, a spokeswoman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The tsunami advisory for the entire West Coast didn't deter surfers competing in a qualifying match of a Professional Longboards Association contest at San Diego's Ocean Beach.

"We're just trying to stay on schedule, that's the biggest thing," said Jeff Stoner, the association's executive director, as organizers monitored the tsunami's progress.

All but five of 72 contestants showed up Saturday, Stoner said. One from Hawaii dropped out to catch a flight home, hoping to join family before the first waves hit the islands.

The tsunami was a hot topic of conversation at coastal coffee shops, though some surfers hadn't heard about the quake. Their big complaint was choppy waves that measured little more than two feet.

"You could definitely ask for a better day," said Josh Rapozo, 27, of Laguna Niguel, after competing in a qualifying round.

Devastating tsunamis are rare in California. Since 1812, 14 tsunamis with waves higher than 3 feet have been observed along the California coast, but only six caused destruction.

The deadliest occurred in 1964 when a magnitude-9.2 quake in Alaska spawned tsunami waves that killed 12 people in Northern California.

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Associated Press writers Alicia Chang and Chris Weber in Los Angeles and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco contributed to this report.