The effects of a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile were felt thousands of miles away, as 2- to 4-foot tidal surges shook vessels and docks in Orange and Los Angeles county.

Photo by: yachtphotography.com Surge Withstood – At Newport Harbor, no vessel or property damage was reported as a result of the Feb. 27 tsunami warning. Harbors in Orange and Los Angeles counties experienced little damage, with Marina del Rey enduring the worst blows, as eight public docks were reported damaged.

What began Feb. 27 as a “tsunami advisory” issued by the National Weather Service suddenly was replaced with a “tsunami warning” predicting potential 6-foot surges. The weather service’s rapid change of mind left harbor patrol officers and public safety agencies to put emergency evacuation plans into effect very quickly.

“We were very fortunate that this occurred during an extremely low tide,” said Sgt. John Whitman of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol in Dana Point, who reported a 0.7 tide at noon. “The harbor withstood everything very well.”

Officials closed access to Dana Point Harbor, Dana Point Harbor Island and Puerto Place. Merchants and liveaboards were notified of the inclement weather and visitors were asked to heed warnings. While some stayed away, many spectators snapped pictures of the rushing river-like currents that hit the harbor.

By noon, surges struck the harbor, pulling the water back with such force that a portion of the harbor’s bait barge broke in half. The series of three surges peaked at approximately 3 feet.

The bait barge has since been repaired and is now open for business.

In Newport Beach, coastal residents were advised to stay away from coastal areas via the city’s AlertOC emergency notification system — once the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol notified the city of a Coast Guard advisory that a 6-foot or larger wave could be imminent.

The harbor experienced a 4- to 6-inch swell after noon, but the 6- to 8-foot surge never occurred.

City officials later reported the information provided by the Coast Guard was incorrect and likely intended for Hawaii. They stated that although the information turned out to be wrong, the safety of the community was a top priority.

Craig B. Smith, a Balboa Peninsula resident who has advocated installation of tsunami sirens and increased disaster planning for the city, was monitoring tsunami surges up and down the coast.

“Tidal changes around here take six to eight hours — and they were taking place in 15 minutes,” said Smith, who has long studied tsunamis and extreme waves, and has written extensively about them.

The recent event should serve as a wake-up call to coastal cities, Smith said. Communities must do more to alert residents and prepare for emergency evacuations.

The city warned residents of the tsunami via the AlertOC system; however, thousands did not receive the calls. Smith was one of them.

“I was surprised that I did not receive a call,” he said.

When the system attempted to reach an estimated 109,000 home and business landlines at one time, the network became overloaded and ultimately called an estimated 33,000 lines. The system attempted to call the other 75,000 lines that were not reached during the first round — but only 16,000 received the calls, leaving 60,000 without any contact about the tsunami.

Follow-up calls were not attempted, because the city eventually received word that the alert information was inaccurate and meant for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

“The system is never going to be perfect — and that’s why we use AlertOC in conjunction with all of our other notification tactics,” said Katie Eing, emergency services coordinator for the Newport Beach Fire Department. “If we thought that this wave was really going to hit us, we would have had police and lifeguards driving up and down every street notifying everyone.” Notification would also have been broadcast on television and radio.

In Newport Harbor, no vessel or property damage was reported during the tsunami event, Harbor Patrol Sgt. Steve McCormick reported.

Marina del Rey’s docks were not as fortunate, as strong surges ripped a dock finger from a main walkway. Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors marina maintenance staff secured the finger to boat slips, to prevent it from entering the channel. In all, eight public docks experienced moderate damage.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Marina Station relocated six vessels ranging from 30 to 55 feet within the anchorage, in an effort to reduce damage to nearby vessels and slips. Following the tsunami event, there were no reports of vessels damaged in Marina del Rey, according to Los Angeles County officials.

Ocean levels at the Port of Los Angeles reportedly receded 3 feet in five minutes, but returned to a normal tidal state soon after the event. All deep-draft vessel movement and liquid transfers were also halted for two hours, as a precaution, the Coast Guard stated.

Farther up the coast, the tsunami peaked at Santa Monica and Santa Barbara at 2.3 feet, the National Weather Service reported.