What caused it:
"Seismic testing stirs marine worries" Associated Press, October 01, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO — Plans to use an array of powerful air cannons in an undersea seismic study near a Central California nuclear power plant have federal and state officials juggling concerns over marine life with public safety....
The $64 million, ratepayer-funded effort to understand seismic threats to the nuclear plant has intensified since the 2011 quake and tsunami that disabled reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Scientists were surprised by the 9.0-magnitude quake on a fault that scientists did not believe would produce a quake stronger than 8.0.
--more--"
"Troubled Calif. nuke plant aims to restart reactor" by Michael R. Blood | Associated Press, October 05, 2012
LOS ANGELES — The operator of California’s troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant proposed Thursday to restart one of its twin reactors, more than eight months after the facility was shut down after a break in a tube carrying radioactive water.
A plan to return even one reactor to service is a milestone for Southern California Edison, coming three months after federal regulators found a botched computer analysis eventually led to excessive wear to hundreds of tubes in the plant’s steam generators.
Edison said in a statement that it has filed the proposal with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is expected to take months to review the details. The NRC has said there is no timetable to restart the plant....
--more--"
Related:
Moderate quake rattles central Calif.
Activists plan to sue Mass. nuclear plant owner
For polluting the Bay.
"‘King tides’ cause flooding in California" by Gillian Flaccus and Lisa Leff | Associated Press, December 14, 2012
Related:
Moderate quake rattles central Calif.
Activists plan to sue Mass. nuclear plant owner
For polluting the Bay.
"‘King tides’ cause flooding in California" by Gillian Flaccus and Lisa Leff | Associated Press, December 14, 2012
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Seawater spread into several low-lying communities along the California coast Thursday morning as unusually high ‘‘king tides’’ pulled the Pacific Ocean farther ashore than normal.
Causing some damage but mostly just making a nuisance, water flooded Pacific Coast Highway and side streets in Sunset Beach, a sliver of Huntington Beach between the ocean and a yacht harbor. Down the Southern California coast, Newport Bay was brimming, while just north of San Francisco the tide swamped a commuter parking lot in Marin City and seeped into dozens of cars.
Bruce DuAmarell, an 18-year resident of the Sunset Beach, said he got a call at work from an alarmed neighbor and came home.
‘‘My garage had flooded. There were four to five inches in my garage,’’ he said, as he took a break from sweeping water out onto the street. ‘‘It came up over the seawall.”
DuAmarell lost a vacuum and some Christmas presents, but otherwise was unscathed.
Occurring several times a year, king tides happen when the Earth, moon, and sun align in a way that increases gravitational pull on the oceans, raising water levels several feet above normal. The nonscientific term can also refer to extremely low tides.
Sunset Beach residents expect flooding, but that did not keep Fred Grether out of trouble. He tried to drive his 2004 Porsche to a car wash to rinse off the salt water after the flooding reached the undercarriage. But driving to the car wash did more damage than staying put, he said as a tow truck prepared to haul his car to the shop.
‘‘I didn’t realize how deep it was at the intersection and as soon as I got to the intersection, I heard this frizzling noise and my car alarm started going off and I realized that I had burned out the electrical system,’’ he said.
The tide at Marin City reached 7 feet, slightly higher than during last December’s king tides. The damage could have been much worse if the weather had brought big waves, National Weather Service forecaster Larry Smith said
‘‘Right now it’s just a neat thing,” Smith said. ‘‘It kind of does give you a glimpse of what the future might be with the sea level rise.’’
The event provided organizers of the California King Tides Initiative an opportunity to get Californians thinking about and preparing for the future. The three-year-old initiative, sponsored by government and nonprofits, enlists volunteers to photograph the king tides as an illustration of what low- lying coastal areas could look like if predictions about the Earth’s climate come to pass....
Which they are not.
Which they are not.
--more--"
"Family missing off Calif. coast" Associated Press, February 26, 2013
MONTEREY, Calif. — Crews searched by sea and air and sought the public’s help Monday as they intensified efforts to find a husband and wife and two young children who sent a series of distress calls to the Coast Guard the day before.
The couple said Sunday their sailboat was sinking far off the California coast and they were fashioning a raft from a cooler and a life ring.
The unidentified family had been sailing a 29-foot boat west of Monterey Bay, where strong winds, cold water, and big swells made for perilous conditions. Forecasters issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas....
--more--"
Related: Report of boat sinking off California a possible hoax
Also see:
"Two Mexican men have been charged in the death of a Coast Guard member who was killed Sunday in an encounter with smuggling suspects off the California coast."
California surfer killed in shark attack
"Family missing off Calif. coast" Associated Press, February 26, 2013
MONTEREY, Calif. — Crews searched by sea and air and sought the public’s help Monday as they intensified efforts to find a husband and wife and two young children who sent a series of distress calls to the Coast Guard the day before.
The couple said Sunday their sailboat was sinking far off the California coast and they were fashioning a raft from a cooler and a life ring.
The unidentified family had been sailing a 29-foot boat west of Monterey Bay, where strong winds, cold water, and big swells made for perilous conditions. Forecasters issued a weekend advisory warning boaters of rough seas....
--more--"
Related: Report of boat sinking off California a possible hoax
Also see:
"Two Mexican men have been charged in the death of a Coast Guard member who was killed Sunday in an encounter with smuggling suspects off the California coast."
California surfer killed in shark attack
