This anecdote recently surfaced, having been published in the
The use of the term tidal wave to mean tsunami was
common in 1964, and still is, even though most coastal British Columbians are
aware of the correct term.
Tidal Wave
by Charles Ford
From all of the accounts of the damage caused by the Alaskan Tidal Wave
of March 1964, one would think that the only damage done was to
Our home was built on stilts over the water, and that night as I
finished my bath I wondered why the tub took so long to drain. Hearing my wife
out on the front porch calling across the road to the neighbors, I went to the
front door and found the water level at the top of the porch, which was about
three feet above the ground.
The word was that there had been an earthquake in
Nothing happened for the next hour or so and we thought it was all over,
but then we heard the roar of rushing water. I went to the porch and saw logs
and other debris being swept down the main road, the water rising rapidly and
entering our house.
The Hedigans' house was on blocks as well and
was rapidly filling with water. We had no idea how deep it might get and if the
house would come off its foundation and start to float, trapping us inside in
the dark.
We contemplated going to the attic, but at that time the water started
to subside. Immediately we went to the school which was on higher ground at the
east end of town.
Pete, the manager of Zeballos Iron Mine, which
was located several miles inland, sent down the crew buses to pick up the women
and children and take them to the bunk houses at the mine site.
He had called out all the bull cooks in camp, and had them roust the
sleeping miners from their beds, ordered clean bedding put on, the cook house
opened and the cooks to action, providing hot food for the new guests.
Downtown Zeballos, an old gold mining town
built in the 1930s, had seen better days, but the water had lifted many
buildings off their foundations, live electric wires lay across the street
sending unwary dogs howling off, and people wandering the street with a muted
sense of excitement and wondering what was going to happen next.
The next morning we returned home to find that the house had been filled
to a depth of about two feet of muddy water, some of which remained, floating
the linoleum. A couple of holes in the floor with my .308
Flying to Tahsis that morning I saw an
incredible sight between
The water rushing through
Mary Basin on Nootka Island, where we used to
pull the occasional crab trap, had been affected by the upheaval. We were able
to get only one trap out of the sand and its sole occupant was a butter clam.
Over the next few days, there were several more alerts that thankfully
never materialized. During the first one, I radioed to have my wife Carol pack
up our infant daughter and be ready to go to
Several days later I took a photographer and scientist from the federal
government on a tour of the west coast sites that had been hit.
Most of the float camps had no damage, just a quick ride up and down,
but camps and villages at the heads of shelving inlets suffered quite badly.
Amai Inlet on Kyuquot Sound had a wave which was later estimated to have
been eight feet high, which tossed houses around like toys. The Indian village
at
Fortunately, it was not a full tide when the wave struck, or there would
have been much more damage and possibly considerable loss of life. There were
no warning systems then, just radio stations, or the airlines' network of
radios which were normally on during the day only. There are better
communications now so that when the next one arrives, everybody can head for
the high ground.
Charles Ford now lives in