California Town Still Scarred by 1964 Tsunami [8min]

On Good Friday in 1964, the largest earthquake ever recorded in North America struck Anchorage, Alaska. Shifting tectonic plates displaced billions of tons of ocean water and sent tsunami waves rushing at the speed of a jetliner down the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The tsunami struck several coastal communities on that March 27, but its biggest punch was saved for Crescent City, Calif., a small lumber and fishing town of about 3,000 residents just south of the Oregon border. It came by the light of a full moon in a series, it's believed, of four waves. The first wave caused only minor flooding of shops and stores in the small downtown area near the shore. But Crescent City residents were familiar with high water. They had also had their share of tsunami false alarms. So residents and shop owners weren't terribly distressed by the foot of water that flooded the lower blocks of downtown. Eleven people in all died in Crescent City that night in what became known as the worst tsunami in the history of America's lower 48 states.