California cities, Santa Monica and Santa Cruz were hit by intense flooding as a result of tsunami, which was caused by Japan and Australia after a massive underwater volcano erupted off the coast of Tonga, a Polynesian country in the South Pacific. Officials in Fiji said they heard the eruption was so loud, it could be heard 500 miles away. This type of flooding was unseen before in Santa Cruz as experts were surprised at how much damage it caused and how long it lasted, which was about 24 hours. Santa Monica and Santa Cruz experienced 4.1 feet waves with their beaches now shut.The tsunami ruined the docks, boats, and harbor and caused more than $20 million in damages, not including other areas. For Santa Cruz alone there was a total of $6 million in damages.

The eruption lasted at least eight minutes and sent gas, ash, and smoke several miles into the air as residents of Santa Cruz had to be warned to not go near the water, and after ordered on a mandatory evacuation. Authorities in nearby nations also issued warnings to stay away from the shoreline

Other places that saw minor damage to their ports over the weekend included Moss Landing in Monterey County, Port San Luis in San Luis Obispo County, and Arena Cove in Mendocino County.

These events prove that these harbors prone to things like these require major upgrades. In 2011, after the tsunami from Japan, the city rebuilt its harbor into what they called “tsunami-resistant,” which is what should be done now. We’re still unsure about how much damage has been done exactly, but the California Governors Offices believes it’s much less then it was in 2011.