The school building, on a hill at an elevation of 90 feet, -was reached 

 only by water spray. Three oil tanks withstood the wave attack CChance, 

 1968). The general runup height was about 5^ feet above MLLW. 



At Port Oceanic, Knight Island, a wave that rushed I8 to 20 feet 

 above high tide level struck the shore 1 to 2 minutes after the onset 

 of the earthquake (Chance, 19^8 ). 



The wave that smashed at Thumb Bay, Knight Island, 2 to 3 minutes 

 after the earthquake, washed away trees standing 20 feet above zero tide, 

 and piled debris at least 22 feet above the highest tide line at the head 

 of the bay (Chance, I968). 



At Sawmill Bay, Evans Island, about 2 minutes after the earthquake 

 began, the water started to rise smoothly and slowly, and then receded 

 in a roaring current. Shortly afterward a second, fast wave reached to 

 about the highest tidewater line and swept away pilings, docks, and 

 boats (Chance, I968). 



At Port Ashton in Sawmill Bay, the first wave struck about 2 minutes 

 after the earthquake, beaching some vessels. The water reportedly con- 

 tinued oscillating at 3 to i| minute intervals until dusk. A high wave 

 at about 9:00 p.m. swept some skiffs away (Figure 159a). 



At Port Nellie Juan, a wave, about 5 feet higher than the dock, swept 

 away pilings and toppled two buildings . 



In Culross Passage, a violent current surged south and then north 

 soon after the earthquake started. The current changed three or four 

 times during a half hour. The surge had the form of a bore 8 to 10 feet 

 high (Chance, I968). 



As reported by two brothers living on Perry Island, in an isolated 

 bay, the water "ruffled" and went down to about 8 feet below low tide. 

 Approximately 8 minutes after the earthquake started, a wave came in 

 and rushed 26 feet above MLLW (Berg, et al, I96U; Chance, I968). 



Mrs. Clock, who lives with her family on Peak Island, reported that 

 the water rose and "boiled furiously" along the shore, and spray went 

 high into the trees. Then the water dropped almost 15 feet from low tide 

 level and it was "eerie calm." About i+ to 5 minutes after the earthquake, 

 a wave of water "five feet higher than normal moved in from the lagoon" 

 and struck the shore. Mrs. Clock said the water "came back and forth for 

 at least an hour." (see Figure 159b). 



The fishing boat Roald was anchored in Port Wells at the time of the 

 earthquake. The captain reported that the water withdrew about 20 minutes 

 later. Then after another 10-15 minutes it returned like a tidal bore 

 from the south and carried the anchored boat along with rocks and debris 

 into its mainstream of deeper water. 



252 



