. complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is the 10:00 news on ktvu, channel 2 news. devastation in japan on the left, damage here in california on the right. after a powerful tsunami killed hundreds and roared across the pacific. good evening, everyone, i'm frank somerville. >> and i'm julie haener. the monster earthquake that battered japan is literally sending shock waves around the world. the rare great wake generate add tsunami that pushed walls of water into japanese towns

and villages causing untold damage and misery. ktvu's janna katsuyama is live in san francisco's japan town where this natural disaster is on almost everyone's mind. well, this neighborhood has been the community and the heart of the japanese people here in san francisco. of them have that on their mind as they watch this natural disaster unfolding. the wall of water 23 feet, seven metres high that came crashing down on north eastern japan pushed people's homes and buildings off foundations and swept cars into a swirling tide of tsunami debris. today people are still feeling shock and waves of after-shock. more than 110 of them, larger than 5/0 with the largest registering 6.8. tokyo's modern efficiency which had ground to an uneasy standstill with high-tech train

systems immobilized are slowly coming back online, as are the mobile phone networks. experts say yesterday's 8.9 quake is the fifth largest worldwide in the past century. near the epicenter a piles of car burned like a funeral pyre. more than 200 are dead tonight but many more are believed lost in the rebel of the hardest hit areas. a nuclear disaster as the japanese government declared a state of emergency and evacuated residents in a ten mile area surrounding two nuclear power plants. the images are hard to watch, especially from thousands of miles away in the bay area, where those with loved ones in japan have spent frustrating hours just hoping a call will connect. >> i made a phone call to my family. and my family is okay. but they don't have electric power in their house. >> tonight a member of the foreign ministry in tokyo told me by telephone that he is grateful for everything that

people in san francisco are have done to show their support. back here live the peace pogoda is a symbol of what people are hoping for in the coming days. reporting live in san francisco, janna katsuyama, ktvu, channel 2 news. the earthquake is the biggest recorded quake ever to hit japan. it shook along an enormous 1300- mile stretch of coastline. scientists say it was 900 times stronger than the bay area's loma priada quake and 30 times stronger than the quake that devastated san francisco back in 1906. tonight we are continuing to get more and more incredible video of the quake's aftermath into our newsroom. this video of a daring rescue was shot three hours ago in ishinomaki. you can see the helicopter there hovering and pulling someone up from a rooftop. a powerful 6.8 after shack leveled buildings in nagano

that hosted the olympics. the force of the quake caused snow covered roofs to collapse. in someplaces roads actually split in two. in some cases they were raised up a few inches. >> that is the sound of the quake rattling a roof in japan. the earthquake shook for two and a half minutes and the man who shot this video says the shaking was so hard it was difficult to stand while holding the camera. you can see the tiles falling off the roof. and then the shaking stops. and everything is calm. this may be the first time the world has ever seen pictures like this. the power of a tsunami in action. and coming up at 10:30, the moment it hit and the devastation still being tallied tonight. four california counties are under a state of emergency tonight after the japan quake generate add tsunami that reached the west coast of the united states killing at least one person and causing millions of dollars in property damage. the tsunami that roared east and south from the island

struck hawaii in the early morning hours and eventually reached the west coast of the mainland united states. the surge was moving at 500 miles per hour. it took ten hours for it to cross 5,000 miles of ocean and reach the coast of california. >> this video shows the tsunami scramming into santa cruz harbor. >> local wine maker took this video with his iphone. it shows the raw power of the ocean. this was the first surge that hit santa cruz harbor at 8:00 this morning. santa cruz county is one of the four california counties now under that state of emergency. governor brown issued the emergency declaration for santa cruz and san mateo, the state makes resources available to help repair damaged harbors, ports and other infrastructure. ktvu's lloyd lacuesta is in

santa cruz tonight where ktvu news crews have been working all day to bring you live coverage of the damage. lloyd? >> reporter: julie, the waters are still surging in the santa cruz harbor tonight. the coastguard is telling me tonight that this harbor remains closed. no in or out boat traffic. those who live on their boats are allowed to stay. but after today some owners have no boats to go back to. >> my boat is gone. >> reporter: todd fraser said a surge of water caused his boat lines to snap and the 26-foot vessel floated free. >> i watched an 8 to 10-foot wave roll all the way through the beginning of the harbor. and just accordion all the docks all the way up and down. >> i am definitely distressed. i have never seen anything like it in my live. >> reporter: the toll from the coastguard 17 boats sunk, 100 damaged, $18 million overall damage. >> the water gets pulled out when the tsunami was coming. and then the surge came in with

a lot of energy and a lot of waves. it is a small port, a lot of energy means a lot of damage. >> i feel like everything is passing before my eyes right now. this is not a great feeling. >> reporter: this man rushed down from danville and saw his boat break free. >> it was very life threatening watching the docks go up and down by about five feet, yeah. they were sitting on the mud and then they were up in the air. >> reporter: tonight boaters were doing what they could to clean up. >> you know, you stand by and let the ocean do what it's going to do. there is nothing you can do about it. you come down after it was done and things calm down. and see what you can do for the boats. >> reporter: salvage operations may begin tomorrow. one couple whose boat sank told me they were just too depressed to talk about it. live in the santa cruz harbor, lloyd lacuesta, ktvu, channel 2 news. this evening the coastguard called off its search for a man who was swept out to sea along california's northern-most coast. the man was taking pictures of waves at the mouth of the river

at the time. about 20 miles to the north the harbor at crescent city was hit hard by the tsunami. a viewer sent us this picture where you can see some of the damage there. and a coastguard helicopter crew shot this video of the strong surge moving quickly into the harbor there at crescent city. by some estimates the swell was eight feet high. dozens of boats and docks were damaged. we will have a live report from crescent city coming up in about eight minutes. farther north in brookins, oregon the tsunami battered the port there. the view from above shows a jumbled mess of boats and debris left behind by the zoom. it is about five miles north of the california, oregon state line. the surge of water detached parts of the harbor infrastructure which then sent the boats that were tied up together floating across the water. >> a generous outpouring of support is already underway as many people around the bay area reach out to help those affected by the japan quake. ktvu's amber lee joins us now. she is in san francisco with a look at the local disaster

relieve efforts. amber? >> reporter: julie, we are at the san francisco's sunset district. the restaurant owners are donating 10% of their proceeds to earthquake relief in japan. >> i couldn't get a hold of two of my friends who actually live at ground zero so they are still missing. >> reporter: eric fuji and his family own and operate four japanese restaurants in san francisco. sushi chef grew up near the area ravaged by the quake and tsunami. >> i called last night after i finished, maybe around the 20th time i couldn't reach, reach my family. >> we are on standby to provide assistance with supplies, financial support or personnel. >> reporter: in oakland this afternoon, the red cross set up a phone bank to accept donations and to answer questions about how people can help. >> the response has been good but not overwhelming. >> reporter: across the bay in san francisco, the red cross

has emergency supplies ready to go. >> the japanese red cross has gone in. they have sent in a number of teams to really determine what the needs will be and the affected areas. >> reporter: in japan town at the japanese cultural center the executive director told us donations have been pouring in. $6200 since the doors opened this morning. he is urging the public to keep the japanese people in their thoughts and prayers in the long road to recovery. >> right now in japan it's freezing cold. and people are homeless. and they have lost everything. and so just trying to get funds out so they can get the necessary and urgent supplies that they need right now. >> back here live the fuji family says their fundraising is not a one-night deal. they pledge to donate 10% of the profits from all four restaurants for one full week. reporting live in san francisco, amber lee, ktvu, channel 2 news.

in the last 30 minutes we have received late word from japan about a damaged nuclear power plant. why the japanese safety officials now say a nuclear meltdown could be a possibility at one of those plants. >> and when i come back i will explain why the tsunami hit the

. at this hours crews are fighting a refinery fire in japan. you can see one tank that is completely engulfed in flames. within the passed half hour there was an escalating danger at a damaged nuclear power plant in japan. the nuclear safety commission now says a meltdown there is possible. earlier today, japan declared a state of emergency at two nuclear power plants. ktvu's christian kafton spoke with a nuclear engineer in berkeley about this situation. >> reporter: thousands of japanese living near failing nuclear power plants have already evacuated as that country's nuclear engineers struggle to control the reactors damaged in the quake. oning was born and raised in japan and now teaches at berkeley. they are closely monitoring japan's power plants. >> the news of the latest activity was shocking to me. >> reporter: nuclear engineers

say japan's nuclear power plants were designed to withstand major quake was afears of fail-safes to keep the reactors cool. but it appears some of those systems are failing, most seriously at the power plant. >> there is a high probability that the containment and the pressure vessel were damaged by the earthquake. >> reporter: the facility in question is much older than the one in the schematic. but one thing is similar, that is this is the containment area. the concern is that radioactivity is leaking from the containment area into the control room. >> it is not fatal at all. but more of a concern is the reason why radio activity, why high radioactivity is observed in the control room. >> american nuclear engineers say a full meltdown is unlikely and anticipate their counterparts will regain

containment by the end of the weekend. in berkeley this is ktvu, channel 2 news. many japanese factories sat silent today as the country took stock of the damage. sony, toyota, nissan, honda and fuji are just some of the companies that closed some plants. all of japan's major ports were closed as well. and exports of electronic components will likely be delayed. however, analysts estimate the main area affected by the quake accounts for only two percent of japan's economy. on wall street the prospect of decreased demand for oil in japan sent the price of crude lower. that in turn sent the stocks higher. dow picked up 59 points while the nasdaq was up 14. before the tsunami reached california, it sent a furry of water into kona, hawaii. sure wasn't an average day as the ocean rolled right up to buildings and homes. some beachfront hotels got more than a foot of water in their lobbies. so much water flooded inland that fish were actually found

inside some buildings. kona is on the western side of the big island. over on maui, a resident took these photos of the damage there. the streets are littered with mud, trees and other debris. waves of up to six feet be pushed rocks up on the door steps of houses. the tsunami hit at 3:00 in the morning in hawaii and took less than an hour to sweep across the island chain. no deaths were reported. >> no word on the identity of that man swept out by the tsunami at a beach near crescent city. they are not sure what they have returned to. reporter david phoenix surveyed the damage in crescent city today where the tsunami surge reached eight feet in height. david? >> reporter: julie, good evening. even now the surges are continuing here in crescent city. you can see the boats behind me being dragged around by the moving water after they were set adrift by the tsunami. but the evacuation order has been lifted and the worst seems

to have passed. still boats and fishing boats sit smashed and sunk in crescent city harbor. the docks are shredded and a thick odour of fuel oil hangs in the air. >> what's going to happen to the people here? it's going to be hard. every-bodies going to have to pull together. >> it's devastating just to see this. >> reporter: the tide began rising here shortly after 7:30 in the morning. eventually the surges reached eight feet. the highest anywhere in the united states following the earthquake in japan. >> this happened two or three times before. i go out and it is not going to be that bad. and evidently it was. >> reporter: as soon as the tsunami siren sounded, many people thought back to the 1964 tsunami that killed 11 people in crescent city and destroyed much of the downtown. >> we do get a small tsunami once in a while or a surge in here and it breaks the docks up. but this is the worst i've ever experienced. >> reporter: now the concern is for fishing crews who went to sea before dawn, before the tsunami hit. and who now have no home port to which they can return.

>> there was i think 25 boats that went out this morning. >> reporter: and what's going to happen with them? >> well, they can't come tie in right now in brookings or eureka so they will have to stay out there and probably motor all night. >> reporter: just south of here three people were trying to take pictures of the tsunami along the river swept out to sea. two did make it back to shore but the third 25-year-old man is still missing tonight and presumed dead. live in crescent city, david phoenix, ktvu, channel 2 news. the tsunami surge was tsunami surge was seen 25 miles to the south. the coastguard said the water rose four feet today and then subsided. it was clear sailing for these waves, there was nothing in their way. the coastguard said they didn't cause any damage. >> in santa cruz there was plenty of damage to all kind of boats in the harbor. some sank before people even realized they were going down.

as ktvu's allie rasmus reports some got away from the surging waters with no time to spare. >> reporter: on this bridge overlooking the harbor the tidal waves became a spectacle. hundreds gathered to watch the waves and document the damage. one woman showed us this video of a wave that hit the harbor. >> started filming over here and the boats were completely being lifted up and boats started crashing into each other and capsizing. it was pretty intense. >> throughout the day the fast- moving water continued to rush in and out of the harbor. with each surge there was more damage. boats with broken masts floated aimlessly. we watched one yacht start to take on water and in a matter of minutes the channel had swollen it up. it was attached to what used to be a dock. by mid-afternoon all that remained were wooden stakes in the water. >> there was a walkway that went all the way out to the channel. and there were boats on both sides. so probably 40 boats. >> reporter: this woman's boat survived the surges but the dock surrounding it was

destroyed. she escaped just in time. >> right here i heard them yell to get off your boat. i leaped off of my boat and i was trying to run as fast as i could. and then the dock broke up between my feet and i leaped across and got to the other side. >> by late afternoon, boat owners were still assessing some of the damage. but santa cruz police estimate that at least 20 boats sank and hundreds more were damaged. in santa cruz, allie rasmus, ktvu, channel 2 news. [ music ] all right. why didn't these waves go to monteray bay and not san francisco bay? take a look. here we have got the basic waves coming in off the pacific. come in a little closer now. when those waves are travelling 500 miles per hour across the open ocean came into contact with the marshall low waters along the weather size of santa cruz here along the western shore of santa cruz they start to bend. we call that refraction as the wave bends.

coming in closer you can see where the santa cruz beach is you will see them bend there like at four point. so knew -- now you've got momentum and a surge moving into an area that is basically focusing into the water, right, this water is all being focused into shallower and shallower conditions up into the santa cruz harbor here. it all rushes in. that's bad enough. but when it comes out it really gets going. because a lot of water is rapidly being drained. most of the damage we saw this morning was from the boats and what have you that cut loose and hit other boats. if it weren't for there being boats in the harbor most people wouldn't have noticed it. this type of action, what i just showed you, occurred all along. there is the river. it just wasn't as noticeable because you don't have boats and debris in there. so what we saw today unprecedented. that's one of the reasons it is called wave refraction. waves want to bend so they came around that point and wanted to

bend. and right there bending in the bay there is the harbor and funneled right up there. some of those waves were 2-3 feet. really astonishing video today. there is no tsunami warning. that has been dropped since 3:00. still a tsunami advisory in effect for the west coast of the united states north of point conception. thank you, bill. our coverage continues throughout the hour. in about ten minutes we talk with two bay area men in japan for a ski vacation when the earthquake hit. a few minutes later, what local seismologists say about the earthquake and what parallels can be drawn here in northern california. and at 10:45 the bay area school district that went as far today as cancelling classes. and at ktvu.com find up the -- updates there. >> a new twist tonight in that growing san francisco police misconduct case. who is now

. the pentagon announced today an alameda soldier has died in afghanistan. staff sergeant eric trueblood was 27-year-old. his mother said he was walking toward an improvised explosive device that had exploded when a second one went off. she said he graduated at the top of his class at a military bomb disposal school. trueblood is the fourth technician to die within a week. >> the police misconduct probe is now in the hands of the fbi and the u.s. attorney's office. the allegations stem from surveillance videos that appear to show a total of eight police officers conducting illegal searches. district attorney george gascone said yesterday new information indicates it is better if the fbi takes over but he did not reveal what that new information is.

>> caltrans announced today two men have been arrested in a brutal attack at the redwood city station. a 47-year-old san jose man was beaten and stabbed last saturday night. he remains in critical condition. the two are walker and furman both from redwood city. authorities say as many as 15 people took part in that attack. the highway patrol is recommending a windsor high school student who jumped off the golden gate bridge yesterday face trespassing charges. the 17-year-old survived. he landed in the water next to a group of surfers. and one of those surfers told our crew that the teen said he jumped for fun. he was at the bridge as part of a school field trip. california is being sued by a company that was poised to buy 11 state buildings. california first lp was the winning bidder when arnold schwarzenegger was governor. but last month governor brown cancelled the deal. the company filed suit saying the state had no right to back out. the original plan was to sell the buildings for more than $2

billion and then lease them back. governor brown decided that in the long run the deal would be too costly. the upcoming nfl season is in real jeopardy right now. the associated press reported about an hour ago the national football legal has decided to lock-out the players. that after talks between the owners and the players broke down earlier today. the two sides were trying to divide some $9 billion in annual revenue. the nfl owners said they were confidant a deal could be made. the players said the two sides were far apart. >> we discussed a proposal that they had presented. at this time significant differences continue to remain. >> the players then voted to decertify their union and a tough legal fight is now likely that could lead the nfl season to being cancelled. later in sports we will have more on what this means for the teams and their fans. a ski trip with friends to japan takes a frightening turn. we talk with two skiers from danville who are stuck in that

earthquaked damaged country. hear their first-hand account of the massive quake. >> but up first, new video into

. we have new video in tonight from japan that shows a derailed train in a sea of mud. there are vehicles scattered around it. japanese television reported that the train was derailed by the tsunami. but somehow, all of the passengers reportedly managed to get out alive. all day we've been going over pictures from japan looking for the ones that best illustrate what happened. ktvu's maureen naylor tonight with some of the incredible sights and sounds of the earthquake, the tsunami and the

after-math. (speaking japanese). >> reporter: it looked like a disaster movie. but was all too real. a wall of water steadily storming over japan's coastal villages, wiping out entire neighborhoods. in this video took just seconds to destroy dozens of homes. the water didn't stop there but marched on to the building in the lower left portion of the screen which was devoured by a wave in an instant. in the city cars and people were trapped in the stream of debris which carried away entire homes. japan's biggest quick in history hit hard at 2:46 in the afternoon. the shaking went on for more than two minutes. at an airport some huddled under doorways just before the ceiling crashed down. >> within an hour, the tsunami roared ashore, covering

farmland and coastal villages alike. and you could hear screams as the waves crashed ashore, washing away entire blocks. boats and barges alike battled the in coming waves which triggered a massive whirlpool seen from the air. the i am ages from the -- images from the ground are just as surrounding streets sounded by powerful debris, images never seen in our lifetime. this is maureen naylor, ktvu, channel 2 news. a group of five friends from the danville area is in the earthquake ravaged country. they were heading there this week for a ski vacation in the popular he resort town of nasako, a two-hour flight from tokyo. date this afternoon we talked with don and they had just returned from a day of skiing and in their hotel room on the 16th floor when the massive quake hit. >> all of a sudden the curtains

started to shake. the building started to shake. they told us obviously to relax. and relax and ride the wave. and it lasted for over a minute. >> well, i was just rolling. the whole room was just swaying. the closet doors were clanging around. don was on the coach. he was squeezing that coach so hard his knuckles were white. >> they say there is no significant damage or injuries in that mountain resort town, just a lot of rattled nerves. they said they were able to immediately call their families back here in the bay area to let them know they are okay. they also said they felt a number of after-shocks and the officials shut down part of the mountain today because of the danger of avalanches. the danville men were supposed to head to tokyo on monday but now say they are re-thinking their plans and are concerned about how hard it might be to get home. >> getting from here to there or vice versa hasn't been easy today with dozens of flights cancelled out of japan and out

of sfo. ktvu's deborah villalon is live at san francisco international airport where the only tokyo- bound flight to get out today is just about to take off. deborah? >> it's a japan airline 777 which arrived here just before 8:00 tonight, totally empty except for the flight crew. that so it can turn around and return to tokyo with people who have been waiting all day here to get out. >> i worry about the transportation from the airport to my apartment. >> these tokyo-bound passengers are apprehensive but need to be there. >> i made a phone call to my family. and my family is okay. but they don't have electric power in their house. >> reporter: this traveler wants so much to see her boyfriend she bought her ticket today, ready to brave after- shocks. >> he is pretty shaken up. but he's okay. and his family is okay. so that was the good news. >> expecting for the flight to be cancelled so i am really happy that, you know, even

though it gets in at 3 a.m. and i don't know how i will get from the airport. >> we are kind of scared about going home. >> reporter: and some passengers haven't yet gotten through to family back home. >> and at least i can go home so i am very happy about that. >> reporter: and tonight we saw the flight crew that brought the empty boeing 777 in and a fresh crew goes out with 272 passengers on that very same jet in about 15 minutes. now, checking the flight boards inside, moments ago we saw five flights scheduled for tomorrow morning in and out of sfo and tokyo. so it does appear that some normalcy is returning, but as always, check ahead. reporting live at sfo, deborah villalon, ktvu, channel 2 news. >> members of the sycamore congregation al church are on edge tonight. the majority are japanese american and they are worried about the fate of their friends and relatives in japan. a woman we spoke with today said she used to live in the epicenter of the massive quake.

>> my first thought was to try to get in touch with everybody that i knew. but of course all of the phones were down so i haven't been able to reach anybody. >> although it is still early in the recovery process, church officials say they will be helping out in the relief efforts. the pastor says the church will remain open for most of the weekend. a team of japanese firefighters is stranded in the bay area tonight. the 12 firefighters are here training with the menlow park fire protection districts search and rescue team. because of flight cancellations they have been unable to make it back to japan. through an interpreter one firefighter told us that the team has been frustrated because they want to get back to help out. the menlope park counterparts are ready to be deployed to japan if called on. >> you are going to have both the collapses within the cities that you have or the towns from the earthquake. and then you are going to have this huge debris field of enlarged areas that will need to be picked over. >> both teams spent the day practicing their search and

rescue techniques. >> earthquakes are not unfamiliar to northern california. up next, we asked seismologists what can be learned from japan and where a similar disaster could occur here. >> and we are tracking some rain possible for your bay area weekend. this is some rain that could be dropped on saturday or sunday. i will let you

i'm going to make a difference. i knew i wanted to go to college, but i had no clue how to pay for it. the u.s. department of education has over $100 billion to help students pay for college. and the free application? you mean the fafsa? i did it online. i'm going to find out how to pay for college. i'm going to college.gov. president obama offered his condolences today to the japanese people and said that they could count on the help from the u.s. an american navy ship in singapore began loading relief supplies to be taken to japan. president obama also said fema is ready to help any u.s. territory that needed help. and he outlined what more the

u.s. is doing. >> we currently have an aircraft carrier in japan and another is on its way. we also have a ship en route there to assist as needed. >> the president's aides woke him up at 4:00 this morning to tell him the news about the quake. throughout the day he received briefings on the situation. so can it happen here? could a mega quake send a wall of water crashing against the shore. as john fowler our science reporter determines is yes. >> reporter: it is an example that has happened many times off the northern california coast. experts say today said offshore north of the bay area the cascade yeah zone is capable of an earthquake ever every bit as big as japan's. >> when it happens it will be big and it will be devastating, tsunamis and shaking and a lot of people will feel it. >> reporter: the fault similar

to japan's but busier averaging a mega quick every 350 years. the last one was 11 years ago. the quake would certainly be greater than today's likely inundating alameda and the marina district, hundreds of homes and buildings are at risk. and as we saw in santa cruz harbor today, the narrow but deep golden gate could focus tsunami energy into the bay. >> once a wave like that gets into the bay, depending on how big it is, it could slosh back and forth. >> reporter: tsunami experts say it is difficult to predict precisely because of the complicated ocean bottom own coastline but previous waves have scoured the basin. john fowler, ktvu, channel 2 news. >> japan's quake was huge but not the biggest worldwide. although seismologists say it is the biggest ever in japan. they put a 1916 quake in chile at the top with a magnitude of

9.5. the 1964 alaska quake was 9.2. san francisco's 1906 quake is now estimate today have had a magnitude of 7.7. the pictures we are seeing from japan bring the 2004 quake and tsunami in southeast asia to mind. the quake was the third largest ever 9.1 and the resulting tsunami killed more than 220,000 people. one big difference, japan has been better prepared than indonesia. >> we are following some developing news right now. the search for a missing woman and her infant grandchild. >> this is the first time i can remember a tsunami warning. >> closed breaches and even an evacuation center. evacuation center. the early warning ma

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. we are following a developing story out of berkeley right now volunteers are searching for a missing woman and her 4 month old grandchild. the pair was last seen leaving the on site daycare of a company called 510 systems. that was at 4:00 this afternoon. the company's owner tells us the grandmother is from china china and might not know the area well. she is in her 60s and wearing a blue and white sweatshirt. >> in pacifica they didn't take any chances because of the tsunami warning. as ktvu's reporter mike mibach tells us that a resident says she has seen the city do something in the 32 years since she has lived there. >> reporter: moments after the tsunami set in beaches were closed and front decks and beaches were empty. >> this is the first time i can remember a tsunami warning. >> reporter: the parking lot became a stage i area for a number of law enforcement agencies while down below inside the school gym the red cross moved in pulling out

blankets and cots. people who voluntarily left their homes signed in her. >> we have been in pacifica since 1938 and this is the first time they have closed a school that i know of. >> reporter: they received the call at 2 a.m. >> i was actually still sleeping thinking they called the wrong number or something. my sister woke me up and said the schools are closed. i think they delayed it maybe a couple of hours rather than just cancel it all together. >> reporter: classrooms and playgrounds were empty. the school principal carol pemberton. >> well, i think it is absolutely the right thing to do. you never know what will happen and you need to be prepared. the whole purpose of a disaster preparedness program is to be prepared for the disaster. >> reporter: that disaster never did surface here in pacifica. even so, those folks who came out here to witness the tsunami say they understand just how powerful one can be. >> it's so obvious now, i mean, we are all one world. when you are sitting here and getting affected by something over there.

>> the most tragic thing is what has happened in japan. all of the hundreds of people who have been killed, all of the ones that are missing. >> reporter: the pacific ocean here along the coast of pacifica, camphor now but at times unpredictable. mike mibach, ktvu, channel 2 news. >> in san francisco, preparations were made for possible high waves early this morning. workers set up caution tape at an old pier near fort point to keep people a safe distance from the surge. along ocean beach police closed off the great highway. that required two muni bus routes to be detoured until 4:30 this afternoon. but the curious still found a way to check out the ocean. >> san francisco's office of emergency services has been keeping us up-to-date on the disaster in japan. and its potential impact locally. late this afternoon officials downgraded the tsunami warning to an advisory. but mayor ed lee said people should remain on guard. >> these types of earthquakes and tsunamis don't go away with the first wave. in fact, they have the

propensity to increase, given the after-shocks. >> the mayor also said it is a good reminder for everyone to be prepared in the event of a big quake here. >> the city of capitola was all but a ghost town for much of the day. officials there closed down roads and businesses during the tsunami warning. >> i have lived here my whole life and never seen anything like this. but the waves aren't big but you can definitely tell that the tsunami is making an impact. >> this is so eerie because i don't care what if there is a storm out, this place is packed at all times. there is always people here. >> law enforcement and emergency crews kept watch and kept sight seers away from the water. a few hours ago the police re- opened the roads into the village allowing residents and tourists to return. bart officials today had a real dilemma on their hands, whether or not to keep the tube open during the tsunami morning. throughout the morning bart trains ran on time. shortly before noon the agency announced the threat had

passed. officials later said if tidal surges in the bay had passed eight feet trains would have been either slowed down or stopped entirely between where west oakland and daly said. >> all day ktvu viewers have been sending us photos of their own eyewitness accounts of today's tsunami. this is a photo sent to us by michael that shows the tsunami surge in richardson bay. now, this photos was sent to us by kenny. it shows the destruction of the boats in santa cruz harbor as the vessels there succumbed to the powerful 2-3-foot surges. >> and whenever there is breaking news we want to hear from you. be sure to send us your pictures or videos. you can e-mail them to photos @ ktvu.com. [ music ] >> and right now i am tracking another weather system headed our way as we head towards the bay area weekend. let's take a peek at this one. it is not a major system by any means. but as it moves onshore, all of the energy is going this way.

but we will see a chance of a sprinkle north of san francisco as we go into tomorrow. don't change your plans though because it is not going to be enough to shut you down. sunday's rain looks like it is an afternoon evening thing. so it looks like that won't shut your plans down either. basically as we go into the weekend it is going to be about a lot of clouds. overnight lows tonight in the 40s, low 30s or upper 30s, pardon me. maybe some fog and clouds out there. here come the clouds out in the pacific. they are streaming in. no real energy is headed our way until next week. sunday night into next week we will get wet again. it will feel like winter. but this weekend will be mostly about the cloud cover. here we are saturday evening. you see the clouds. so most of the day saturday clouds and sprinkles showing up north. not shutting you down. here we go into sunday, lots of clouds. and then by sunday afternoon, that's when the showers should start. okay. so your weekend looks good. it is just not going to be a day like we had today which was stunning. by monday we get another couple of areas of showers that come

in. again on tuesday and a little bit perhaps on wednesday. so unsettled next week. bottom line your weekend looks good. bottom line the daytime lows in the 60s. five day forecast with your weekend always in view. looks like a lot of clouds there. next week looks pretty wet. this weekend we are in good shape. sunday night is the best chance for some significant rainfall. >> thank you, bill. >> thank yo

. >> oh, my gosh. >> customers attacked the emeryville apple store to get their hands on the new ipad two. the tablet went for sale at 5:00 this evening. we are not sure how many they sold but the crowd was

enthusiastic. the store limited each customer to just two ipad purchases. the second generation ipad is lighter, faster and thinner than the original model. but it will still cost you a minimum of $500. mark is here with sports. what a game tonight in oakland with the warriors. >> had to be the game of the year. you know what, no idea where the warriors stood in the standings and kind of dropped in on tonight's game you would have swore they were playing for the nba title. just enormous energy. franchise record of three and game from 21 down to gunned down orlando. a huge crowd. a sell-out. fourth quarter ellice no look to steph currie who buried it. ellice by the way 39 points of his own. magic tricks left to their own. and eight seconds left a game tying three. we go to overtime at 101 all. overtime you figure the warriors had no momentum. no, think again. a minute left rice had the three at 32 points.

franchise record 2120 to-123. you would like the giants to calm down a little bit in spring training. kind of like things are going too well for them. save it up for the real deal. now 12-4. the kid is looking good. that's brandon belt in the first inning. shot to left opposite field. it just misses a homerun. and got himself an rbi double as pablo sandoval is in. tim lincecum his second gave up four hits, one earned run. three all told. one of his strikeouts there. matt latos the fifth inning a little insurance. mike goes deep to right. two run shot and the giants beat the padres to the tune of 6-4. split squad activity for the as whooping the dodgers 9- 2. cocoa crisp with one game down the way but falling if the other one 4-3 to the brewers. well, maybe all of us nfl

fans were a little naive to believe the extension deadline to continue their negotiations and might lead to a deal. not even close. things take a nasty turn today just in the last couple of hours, in fact. unable to decide how to divvy up $9 billion in revenue, talks break off and the union decertifies, ten players including tom brady and payton manning sue the owners in federal court in minneapolis today. at midnight eastern time tonight the owners officially locked the players out. translation all bets are off and is it has turned into a completely adversarial situation. stanford with good news. call it a four gone conclusion. they are a step closer to a fifth consecutive pack ten title hammering arizona 170-71. she goes for 32. a little of her work there. the cardinal meeting the unc bruins tomorrow. and the bruins tonight handled

cal63-50. that's the sporting life for tonight. >> thank you. >> stay with ktvu.com for the latest on japan. continue to monitor the earthquake aftermath. good night, everyone.