Brookings, Oregon: After The Tsunami

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The town of Brookings lies on the southern end of the Oregon Coast. The area is primarily dependent upon logging and fishing as a means of industry. The fishing industry includes, but is not limited to, rock cod, salmon, and dungeonous crab. Following the recent Japanese earthquake, Brookings found itself under a tsunami watch.

About a thirty minute drive south from Brookings, across the California state line, is Crescent City. Like Brookings, Crescent City is prone to tsunamis, largely because of the crescent shape of the bay, and the contour of the ocean floor approaching the shore.

The surge from the ocean rose up to eight feet when the tsunami related wave reached Crescent City. The harbor was devastated. The damage was a severe blow to the local fishing industry. To the north, though the surge did not reach the same kind of height in Brookings as it did in Crescent City, the impact of the tsunami was still felt.

Aware of the incoming tsunami related surge, the larger fishing boats in Brookings went out to sea in the early morning hours. At sea, the surge posed no danger. However, the vessels that remained in port were greeted by an angry ocean that slammed the boats against the docks, and each other, causing a strong negative impact on the already struggling local fishing industry.

The caretaker of my property in Brookings is one of those fishermen that was adversely affected by the tsunami. Work as a fisherman has been so slow, as it is. He hasn't fished since last November, and before that it was June of 2010. Though the work he does for me keeps him occupied (considering he has 80 acres to take care of), and housed, it is fishing that gives him any extra money - aside from any logging we may do on the property.

With a hampered fishing industry, thanks to the Japanese earthquake, and its resulting tsunami, many folks in Brookings will have to go elsewhere to find work. People from Brookings and Crescent City may have to venture into Alaska in the hopes of finding openings on boats that are still afloat. However, I don't count the local fishing industry out. They will repair and rebuild, as they have in the past. It'll take more than a tsunami from Japan to hold these people back.

For Brookings, the damage to the harbor is only a temporary setback.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary