Tsunami

If a tsunami were to hit the Orange County coast head-on, the waves could wash over the entire Balboa Peninsula, every island in the harbor and up to the base of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, affecting 40,000 residents, city officials said. According to an “inundation map” of the California coast released by the state Department of Conservation, a tsunami has the potential to devastate the Newport Beach community. The map is meant for city planners to have a better idea of how to prepare for a tsunami triggered by seismic activity in the Pacific Ocean.

As the Fukushima Daichi nuclear tragedy in Japan continues to unfold, some Orange County residents wonder what it might be like if anything like it happened here. Such a nightmare for folks along the Orange Coast would impact us all. A tidal wave of surge refugees would sweep inland. All reasonable preparatory steps should be taken. That's easy to say but daunting even to think about. We shrink from the implications of breached nuclear generation stations. Minute radioactive sparklers are now making their way into Japanese flesh, blood and bone.

Small tsunami waves reached Newport Beach on Saturday afternoon, after traveling some 6,000 miles from the site of a magnitude-8.8 earthquake off the coast of Chile. The National Weather service issued a low-level tsunami advisory for the California coastline after the earthquake. The surf in Newport was out of the southwest Saturday afternoon, with 1- to 2-foot swells and reports of the occasional 4- to 6-foot swell, Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Boyd Mickley said Saturday.

Government officials gathered at the Newport Police Department on Thursday to test the city's first tsunami-preparedness plan. The plan was prompted in part by a June 2005 tsunami warning that left many residents wondering what to do if a giant swell were actually headed for Newport Beach. "We have to be tsunami-ready because we are a coastal city, and even though the chance of occurrence is low, the impact is high," said Katie Freeman, emergency services coordinator for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

Dave Brooks It was surfing that helped motivate Patrick Clifford to travel through Southeast Asia, and after last weekend's tsunami, it was also surfing that saved his life. Clifford, a radiology intern at a hospital in Cochin, India was working on a religious commune when the 9.0 earthquake centered in the Indian Ocean sent massive waves toward the coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand. As many as 150,000 people are believed to have been killed by the disaster.

AT ISSUE: Was this month's tsunami warning in Newport Beach effective? I do not think people need to worry about the Eureka fault. They should worry more about the Catalina fault. In the case of evacuation, I think that Balboa Boulevard should be made into a one-way street so that everyone can get off the peninsula quickly. I think the police did a wonderful job of warning residents. JOSEPH CLEARY Balboa Peninsula No, it was not effective.

Orange County residents are commemorating the fifth anniversary of the south Asian earthquake and tsunami by raising awareness about the continued need of those who were impacted. Resplended Hope is a nonprofit that was formed by members from Mariners Church in Irvine. On relief trips, they saw the devastation the tsunami caused to the people of Sri Lanka. “The needs were so great,” said Kristi Kirkpatrick of Corona del Mar. “We started to share the stories of the people in Sri Lanka, we formed a 501(c)

On the heels of a state Department of Conservation report showing how devastated Newport Beach would be if a tsunami were to strike, the California Coastal Commission is slated to approve the installation of tsunami warning sirens along the Balboa Peninsula. According to the agenda for the Dec. 14 commission meeting, commission staff recommend that it approve three 50-foot-tall warning sirens along the peninsula, which would alert residents and beachgoers of a deadly wave headed to the coast.

As the Fukushima Daichi nuclear tragedy in Japan continues to unfold, some Orange County residents wonder what it might be like if anything like it happened here. Such a nightmare for folks along the Orange Coast would impact us all. A tidal wave of surge refugees would sweep inland. All reasonable preparatory steps should be taken. That's easy to say but daunting even to think about. We shrink from the implications of breached nuclear generation stations. Minute radioactive sparklers are now making their way into Japanese flesh, blood and bone.

As a tie-in to JapanOC, a portion of the proceeds from select screenings at the Newport Beach Film Festival will benefit the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, a festival organizer announced Tuesday. Part of the money generated from ticket sales for closing-night screenings and films showcased in the JapanOC film series will benefit multiple charities' relief efforts, including the Japanese Red Cross Society, the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross, festival cofounder Todd Quartararo said.

UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts on Friday raised $4,350 through a concert to benefit the Japan tsunami efforts. The school organized a one-night-only classical and jazz music concert to raise money for the American Red Cross' Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. The concert was organized by alumna Shoko Fukumara with the help of fellow alumni, students and staff. Former and current students performed. Jazz pianist and Chancellor's Professor Kei Akagi did the featured performance.

COSTA MESA — When Aidan Rowe, 8, had his birthday last week, he decided some things were more important than presents. For his March 20 party, he asked his second-grade classmates at the Waldorf School in Costa Mesa to give him donations for the relief efforts in Japan. Over the past week, he's raised more than $1,000 with the help of his friends and their families. When asked why he wanted to help, the Newport Beach youngster said, "Since the tsunami and the earthquake … and since I like Japan a lot. " His mother, Chiyo Rowe, said that because the children learn Japanese in school, many of them feel a close connection to Japan.

"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. " — I Kings 19:12 (KJV) Recently, I've answered many questions from readers about God and evil. Many people wanted to know how a good and powerful God could be reconciled with the profound and proliferating instances of evil in the world. Now, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has sent shudders across our planet — and our lives — putting a bloody edge to such agonizing questions about God and goodness.

Matt Brisbois has slept little since being awakened by a late-night phone call March 10, in which he received the news that Japan had suffered a major earthquake and that the ensuing tsunami could be headed our way. As the Newport Beach Fire Department's community-preparedness coordinator, he was part of a team charged with communicating with other agencies in coastal Orange County and carrying out plans to inform the public of the tsunami risk....

With a number of close calls from distant tsunamis, and a branch of the Newport-Inglewood fault about one mile offshore, the city of Newport Beach has spent the last several years preparing for tidal waves. Officials have created an evacuation plan for low-lying areas, installed sirens along the coast and coordinated with Newport Elementary School on the Balboa Peninsula, in case waves come during school hours. To teach residents about the dangers, they've tried posting information online and on signs, by printing brochures and offering courses through its Community Emergency Response Team.

SAN ONOFRE — Operators at the concrete-domed San Onofre nuclear plant were trying to reassure worried Southern California residents Monday that the nuclear catastrophe unfolding in Japan won't happen here. San Onofre is located near the San Diego-Orange County line and those who live in the area have long worried about a catastrophe. Gil Alexander, a spokesman from Southern California Edison, said the generating station is an 84-acre nuclear plant that is built to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

NEWPORT BEACH - Joe Ozaki of Japan played in the first round of the Toshiba Classic Friday not knowing his family’s status after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit his homeland the night before. He figured they’d be OK because someone would’ve gotten in touch with him if there was trouble. Ozaki, whose home is in Tokyo, spoke with his wife, Yoshie, Friday night, helping him put his mind at ease. It also helped him make a jump from tied for 15 th to tied for third after a second-round best 7-under-par 64 Saturday at Newport Beach Country Club.

NEWPORT BEACH — Joe Ozaki of Japan played in the first round of the Toshiba Classic on Friday not knowing his family's status after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit his homeland. He figured they'd be OK because someone would've gotten in touch with him if there was trouble. Ozaki, whose home is in Tokyo, spoke with his wife, Yoshie, Friday night, helping him put his mind at ease. It also helped him make a jump from tied for 15th to tied for third after a second-round-best seven-under-par 64 on Saturday at Newport Beach Country Club.