April 1, 1946 Eastern Aleutian Is. Tsunami - Santa Cruz, CA Narrative

Passage from Lander, et al. (1993):

"The Santa Cruz Riptide, April 5, pages 1 and 8 reported that there was no damage reported other than knocking a few boards from underneath the Casino caused by ten foot waves. One elderly man, Hugh W. Patrick, 74, was drowned. He had been walking on the beach with another elderly man, Cophus Smith, 73, at a cove at the west end of the beach where steps led down from West Cliff Drive when the two men were engulfed by a wall of water. The men were both knocked down. Smith tried to hold onto Patrick but a third wave pulled him free. Smith saved himself by holding onto a rock.

Another man, Urf Afanasief of San Francisco, was swimming when a surge dashed him against the rocks but he managed to fight his way out. Men on the municipal wharf reported the water receded at a terrific pace at a little after 10:00 A.M. and suddenly returned at an appalling speed and surged high on the beach. There were four surges, the last at 11:50 A.M. which all but topped the Espanade seawall. They were very frightened. The bay presented a weird sight as it seethed, boiled, and whirled. The water was dirty, and kelp, torn from its roots, whirled about. The rumor of the "tidal wave" spread fast and hundreds of people hurried to the beaches to see."

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