2011 Tsunami Showed Disaster Can Strike Oregon Coast Harbors Later

Published 07/30/25 at 6:45 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Depoe Bay, Oregon) - Yesterday's tsunami advisory along the entire west coast of the U.S. brought back plenty of memories to those living on the Oregon coast, especially to the events of March 11, 2011. No evacuation orders were given this time, but back then they were – and quickly canceled. (Video still from Roman Smolcic)

However, Mother Nature had some tantrums left that sneaked up on a few areas. Luckily, we're not in that situation now and have passed the time anything else can happen. However, here's a look at recent history:

A magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake hit off the coast of Japan earlier that evening before, and a tsunami of epic proportions tore up the country's eastern edge. By the wee hours of March 11, sirens started going off on the Oregon coast.

However, nothing came of it. A small surge or two came in: completely unremarkable here.

Which is why no one in Depoe Bay's harbor batted an eye when some individuals started readying their boats for a day of watery fun. About 11 a.m., Roman Smolcic and his girlfriend boarded their charter boat “Morning Star” as harbormaster Phil Shane was hanging out on the docks.

Suddenly, the bay mouth was acting weird. Bigger and bigger waves started coming, objects around the bay were getting increasingly battered – and Smolcric started filming. Just then, a group of people yelled at the Morning Star occupants to get out, but the massive wave was already there.

Tsunami debris dock from Japan on display in Newport

Within 30 seconds of the first surge, the entire dock he was hooked into broke apart. Dangerously swirling currents snapped up crab pots sitting on docks and sent them reeling into the bay.

You can can see his video here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXeZqMAe3-Y, but several other dramatic videos exist as well. All of them show the docks getting ripped apart, debris slamming into boats and pilings, and there’s that very eerie sound of a kind of screeching, wailing noise, as steel and wood are being pushed around like small toys. Smolcic’s video of being in the middle of it is dramatic, even gutwrenching.

At one point, the surge appeared to be over and things calmed. Shane darted out in a small boat to rescue Smolcic and his girlfriend, and managed to barely do just that before yet another surge came in. Shane was able to jump on land just in time: that next surge grabbed his boat and batted it around.

Siren in Cannon Beach (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The strange nightmare didn’t end there. More surges came and went all day. It emptied out then filled back up again for hours.

Those repeated surges knocked out five docks in Depoe Bay, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage in the end.

On the southern Oregon coast, Brookings and Gold Beach suffered much worse, with dozens of boats getting wrecked in their bays. Millions of dollars were lost there.

Tsunami dock in Newport in 2012 (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Today, however, we're not in the same situation. Oregon Coast Beach Connection spoke to National Weather Service's Jacob Hall (Portland office) and he said no sneaky undercurrents are going to happen now that all the tsunami watches or advisories are gone here.

See more on the 2011 tsunami scare, including the tsunami wreckage from Japan that ended up here, such as the dock at Newport and other religious items at Oceanside.

See Oregon Coast Tsunami Debris Questions: What are the Red Bulbs?

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