Car headlights from a steady stream of cars form a line as residents evacuate the coastal town of Seaside, Ore., Friday, March, 11, 2011. Tsunami warnings were issued as a result of an earthquake in Japan. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)NIGEL DUARA, Associated Press
SEASIDE, Ore. – Sirens blared in communities along the Oregon coast before dawn Friday, sending people to higher ground as tsunami waves generated by a massive earthquake in Japan rolled across the Pacific.
By noon, coastal residents were expected to be able to return home.
Little damage was reported. The waves came at low tide, which meant the additional volume of water rolling across the sea from Japan was piled on a lower floor than would have been the case at high tide.
“We lucked out,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeremiah Pyle.