Pockets of coastline that are open to a north-west swell received the brunt of this force, says a preliminary report prepared by noted oceanographer Quirós Guillermo Alvarez. Sr. Alvarez collaborated with oceanographers and Jose Maria Diaz, Andrade Gutierrez and Alejandro Echeverria.
This eyewitness testimony below, from the Central Pacific of Costa Rica, is excerpted from their report, as provided to Buenos Dias Pavones.
"Around midnight [on March 11] a huge wave entered the marina, taking with it the dock and yachts that were moored. There was a mountain of water moving around and around, moving everything. When the water went down, it left a large area barren. We walked on foot, walked on foot in areas that formerly were deep water." Jose Benavente, Coast Guard, Flamingo Marina, Guanacaste, 10 a.m., Saturday, March 12th.
"Every ten minutes, the tide rose and fell as it does every 12 hours, you know beter than I that the tide lasts 12 hours, but this isn't happening since last night. It all started around midnight, the tide went out as in a low tide. We were in the dock, at the marina, and the sea, suddenly without warning, the sea rose to within a meter of the street, it was very high, the sea advanced about 200 meters inland more than normal. In a stream that is close to here, the water rose and then fell with a loud bang, like a headwater coming down the river, and this happened every 10 minutes. It was very strange. [Don Guillermo], please tell us what this was and what to do." Guideo Virgilio, fisherman, north Pacific, Guanacaste, 9 am., Saturday, March 12.
Excerpts from other eyewitnesses:
"The tide is rising and falling every 8 minutes, and the sea is dark, as if different algae has emerged from its depths. Last night the tide was so high, it reached the palm tree; that has never been seen here...the sardines are going crazy and the fish are hiding." - from Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.
"This morning when we went fishing the sea dried up, then quickly filled and dried up again... the pangas were stranded on the rocks." - from Playa Cabuya on the south-eastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula.
"Before the quake last night, the wind first blew north very strongly. After the quake, the sea is out of control, unwell, and it dried up every 10 minutes, over and over." - from Golfo of Nicoya.
You may be interested in
- Part 1: Secondary Tsunami Waves Damage Costa Rica's Pacific Coast
- Full Tsunami Coverage of March 11, 2010, Pavones and Pacific Coast Rica
- {Coming Soon: Oceanographer's report on Whale Tail, Drake Bay, & more}
The translations from the original report and eyewitness testimony are ours and we accept responsibility for errors and omissions.
Secondary Tsunami Waves Damage Costa Rica, Part 2, eyewitness reports from fishermen and Coast Guard.
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