First U.S. Mainland Tsunami Waves Hit Oregon Coast

Posted: 7:54 am PST March 11, 2011Updated: 7:59 am PST March 11, 2011

HONOLULU -- The first waves from a tsunami caused by a Japanese earthquake have reached the U.S. mainland along the Oregon coast.

Geophysicist Gerard Fryer at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu says high water reached Port Orford, Ore., around 7:30 a.m. PST Friday.

Officials along the coast activated warning sirens hours earlier to alert people to leave low-lying areas.

The National Weather Service says some of the biggest waves of between 6 and 7 feet were expected to hit near Crescent City, Calif.

People in coastal of Oregon, California and Washington evacuated ahead of the waves Friday.

In Alaska, the tsunami caused a wave just over 5 feet at Shemya in the Aleutian Islands 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

---

Anti-Aging: Turn the Clock Back!

---

---