destroyed today. chopper2 was over santa cruz this morning. they estimate the damage there at $50 million. and unofficial evacuations are in place. people remained there for five to six hours before people headed home which created a traffic jam. people lined up across bridges and beaches to get a look at the crashing boats. we have a team of reporters covering the impact of the japan quake here in the area. we begin with allie rasmus, she's in san jose this morning. >> reporter: we're standing over a bridge overlooking san jose harbor. earlier this afternoon there were hundreds of people peering over the edge, checking out the activity and looking at damage like what you're looking at

right now. that is part of a dock that broke. we spoke to one woman who was standing on the dock as it started to break off. >> i was trying to run as fast as i could. then the dock broke up between my feet and i leaped across and got to the other side. >> reporter: doris welches boat survived. her boat is not just for fun, it is also her home. which each surge there was more damage. boats with broken masts toppled aimlessly. >> we started filming over here and the boats were completely being lifted up. and the boats started crashing into each other and capsizing. >> reporter: we watched one yacht start to take on water, and within minutes the channel

had swallowed it up. >> there was a wake way that went up both parts of the channel. there were boats on both sides, so probably 40 boats. >> reporter: back out here live you can see people are still assessing the damage from this morning's tidal surge. you've seen a couple of boat owners out here trying to tie up their boats and secure things out here. santa cruz police estimate that 20 boats sank and 100 more were damaged. allie rasmus, ktvu news. these cars are parked along skyline boulevard, above half- moon bay. people moved to higher ground at 5:00 this morning after an advisory for people in coastal communities to evacuate. in capitola, many locals still came out on foot to watch the surge. capitola village was like a ghost time for most of the day

with the majority of the business there closed most of the day. right now coast guard crews are still searching for the man swept out to sea. the man and two of his friends were taking pictures of the waves. only two of them were able to swim back to shore. a shore of 6 feet at the harbor, about 35 boats and most of the docks there in crescent city were damaged. the coastal town near the oregon state line is perhaps the hardest hit area in california. now we're just getting dramatic new pictures into our newsroom from north of crescent city in oregon. the tsunami ripped boats and sent them down the water way almost like a flotila. brookings is a mile north of the california-oregon line. nearly half of the commercial

boats were damaged. other video continues to pour into the newsroom. this is another video from the santa cruz harbor where the rushing water sent boats and degree crashing into each other. ktvu chief meteorologist bill martin has been watching the weather all day. so what can you tell us? >> the tsunami advisory i suspect won't be around much longer either. that's good news. but here is how it looks outside right now. we've been watching santa cruz harbor all day. the in and out surge. the tsunami impulses. this live picture showing the degree if you look down to the lower part of the screen. the pictures from today obviously across the pacific and to japan amazing. the pictures here, we've never really seen anything like this on live television where we had a tsunami move into the harbor

like this. amazing day in santa cruz. lots of issues down with the boats. a tsunami warning is now a tsunami advisory. i suspect that will be dropped shortly adds well. when we come back we have weather to talk about as well. the san mateo county is one of four counties on a state of emergency. the declaration makes state resources available now to those counties. in just the last hour, the situation has changed in san francisco after a day on high alert. ktvu's david stevenson is live in the city where he received an update from emergency officials. >> reporter: we've spoken to county management officials inside this building, what they told us is a half an hour ago,

state emergency efficients downgraded the tsunami warning in san francisco to an advisory. now, what does that mean. roadways were closed to try to keep people from the shore. but as of 11:00 a.m. those restrictions are lifted. management is no longer advising people to stay away from the beach, but they are asking them to stay out of the water. >> what we saw in japan is that the waves coming in were about nine or 10 feet tall. so you just do a little calculation in your head. how many people you would have to evacuate if we had the same kind of situation. >> we are listening very

closely to our usgs experts. and they will tell us when in fact, those earthquakes might have anything to do with the plates that we are under. now despite that downgrading from a tsunami warning to an advisory. county officials are still on the watch for aftershocks that could send large waves into the area. flights were cancelled or delays today to tokyo. but there is one scheduled to leave tonight. one couple told us they've been in line for seven hours to get home to see their loved ones. they say they have been able to talk to their family members but they are without power. and we'll talk to a man who is on his way to see his family near the epicenter. and damage of the quake is

growing much more serious tonight. the japanese authorities declared a state of emergency at two nuclear power plants. at one point local media is reporting that the cooling system has failed at three of its reactors. japanese officials say they are prepared to issue an unprecedented order to release radio active vapors to try to ease building pressure within those reactors. right now in japan, people have woken up to the devastating aftermath of that 8.9 earthquake that triggered the tsunami across the pacific ocean. maureen naylor is here now with pictures of that disaster. >> reporter: we have new pictures coming out of the japan. first we want to show you video from one neighborhood where buildings and cars have been tossed around. it is now saturday morning in

japan. in the city of yamamoto, hundreds are feared dead and missing. people have been trapped on the roofs of their homes after the quake and devastating tsunami. it looked like a disaster movie but it was all too real. the home on the left of the screen devoured by a wave in an instant. . the 8.9 quake hit hard at 2:56 in the afternoon. the shaking went on for more than two minutes. at an airport some huddled

under the door way and watched the ceiling crash down. a tsunami wiped out farmland in a matter of seconds. boats and barges alike battled the oncoming wave which triggered a massive whirlpool. hundreds of people have been found dead in the rubble but say the death toll will climb likely well above 1,000. reporting live, maureen naylor, ktvu channel 2 news. many people around the bay area have friends or relatives in japan and they are anxiously awaiting for word from their love ones. but many cell phone networks are overloaded. so in are now turning to social networking to get their message through. paul chambers is joining us now with that part of the story.

>> reporter: many people in japan town are now setting up relief efforts. many people in the bay area stepped up to pitch in in the past and they're doing it once again. the tsunami affects his family and business firsthand. >> i couldn't get ahold of our -- >> reporter: a lot of people over there were basically using facebook and computers and e- mails and twitter doing all they can to get the information out. because the phone lines were not working there. so what they did instead was use the computers, the computers, the internet began to work. the council here, the council general here in san francisco basically set up a website. if you're looking to get in contact with one of your family members. all you have to do is log on to

our website ktv u.com and we will link you there. paul chambers, ktvu news. ktvu viewers have been sending us their own photos. be sure to visit ktvu.com under the tsunami tab you can check out our slide show of all the viewer photos. if you have photos you want the share. e-mail them to us at photos at ktvu.com. now, we want to show you a live picture from news chopper 2. it is over the harbor where owners are surveying the damage of their boats. we will be back with more after this.

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and people at sfo try to find a way home. ken pritchett is live now at the airport where some are hoping to board a flight headed to japan later this evening, ken. >> reporter: yeah, frank in about an hour a flight from tokyo will arrive here from sfo. certainly those passengers will have a story to tell. we've been talking to passengers waiting to take a flight tonight waiting to go back home to japan. not knowing what they will find. juna kata turned short his business trip after seeing the devastation in japan where he and his family calls home. >> it's horrible you know.

i seen the scene of the tsunami. >> reporter: the family lives in an area close to where the tsunami hit. he was able to reach his wife. >> i was up after the earthquake trying to call into japan and all lines are full. >> reporter: daget says he booked his flight home after seeing the devastating images on the news. but until this afternoon he was not sure if he would make it home. >> i could not get through today, so i actually came here early expecting for -r the flight to be cancelled. that flight has not been cancelled, it's still scheduled to leave at 10:45 tonight heading to japan. we plan to talk to some passengers coming on an inboard flight from japan. that flight lands in about an hour and a half. these are passengers who may have experienced this quake

firsthand. we'll have their reaction. and president obama said today he is heartbroken by the images of the devastation in japan. he promised u.s. assistance to help the nation recover and rebuild. president obama also said one u.s. carrier is already in japan and another is on its way from syngapore to provide aid. another u.s. ship is now on its way to the marianas island in the pacific. at latest check there was no damage to marianas or in guam. >> fema is fully activated and is coordinating with state and local officials to support these regions as necessary. let me just stress that if people are told to evacuate, do as you are told. >> the the coast guard says it is positioning crews along the west coast to conduct damage survey missions as needed.

back here in the bay area many people want to help those affected by the massive quake. john sasaki has how the bay area is helping out. >> reporter: right here at the sycamore congregation is already getting ready to help out. there's a massive explosion at the complex after the earthquake. there video shows how huge the explosion was. the woman we met was very upset over that incident. >> i was trying to get contact with my family. but the line was so busy that i couldn't. and i, my sister was calling from las vegas and she was so

sad. because at that point we didn't have any information about the explosion. i saw the website, i realized that was the exact place my dad working over there. so that was so scary. now that woman did get the good news that her father is just fine although she's very concerned because he's going to have to actually go back to work at some point and she's very concerned that the place simply won't be close enough. the people -- the sycamore church will be taking a collection to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. cash donations will help replenish supplies and pay for red cross transportation.

the red cross has set up a fund. for more information on how you can help, you can go to our website. time to check the forecast now, for that let's go over to our chief meteorologist bill martin in the weather center. bill. >> reporter: it's been a busy day. we have a little weather to talk about. the weekend looks okay. temperatures in the 40s, a little patchy fog and clouds out there. as we go into the next 36 hour, the week educational background, we have a few sprinkles in the bay area forecast. tomorrow 5:00 p.m. you see tomorrow afternoon that's what we're looking at. just a lot of cloud cover. there might be a little drizzle. i think tomorrow is your best day in the weekend. as we head into sunday. a little more cloud cover, a little more rain possibilities as you see on the computer model here. sunday at 11:00 a.m., north bay, these are just sprinkles. the weekend is okay. i think you're going to get

your baseball games in especially on saturday. sunday night we get a little weather system that rolling on in here. when i get back, i'm going to break out the forecast for your neighborhood and we'll look at that five day forecast as well. beyond this, we have more rain to talk about. we're not done with this winter yet. thank you, bill. a major development in the nfl labor dispute. the commissioner talks talks about a big decision late tonight. plus our compete coverage of the japan tsunami continues.

i was a little naive thinking they could get things done in the next couple of weeks. things are not close to being settled in regard to the nfl players. the owners and players today association decertifing from the league. that sets up a number of

lawsuits, also a debeat on how to divide $9 million. >> we believe ultimately this is going to be negotiated at the negotiating table. they have chosen to pursue another strategy and that is their choice. we are looking to negotiate an agreement that is fair to the play ers and fair to the clubs. >> for many reasons the events in japan have struck close to home. the oakland a's stepping to the forefront. they have announced that they plan to raise funds for the victims that have suffered loss over in japan due to the earthquake and the insuing tsunami. the disaster strike a's designated hitter matsui says

he is yet to reach his own family members in japan but said he felt they were safe because they live on the other side of the country. and we will give you the latest on all happenings that go on and stanford women a state closer to another pack 10 title. that is the sporting life at this hour. all right, mark, thank you. our expanded coverage of the tsunami surge continues in less than three minutes. just ahead -- >> reporter: it has been a very tense, hectic and destructive day here at the santa cruz harbor. as tsunami waves rolled in again and again. the latest coming up.

adam: we need a good night's sleep. kim: which means a little heat to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over the top comfort couldn't hurt.

and our perfect dream factory's been built. i'm feeling sleepy already. nighty night. you can hear it and see it and almost feel it. the surging waters slamming into santa cruz. the tsunami barreled into the west coast about 8:00 this morning ripping docks out of harbors in california and oregon. shaking boats lose and causing millions