It’s a day of caution for residents who dwell near Highway 1 –
and a day of hectic business for the inland gas stations,
restaurants and outlet stores accommodating the influx of coastal
visitors.
It’s a day of caution for residents who dwell near Highway 1 – and a day of hectic business for inland gas stations, restaurants and outlet stores accommodating the influx of coastal visitors.
A mass exodus from Watsonville and surrounding beachfront areas took place as early as 5:30 a.m. this morning when hundreds of denizens reacted to a Pacific Ocean tsunami alert after a gargantuan 8.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan at 2:46 p.m. Japan standard time.
“Everybody we know here is from Watsonville,” said Junior Castillo as he sat on a bench outside of Denny’s on Leavesley Road. “The whole town is here.”
Around 9 a.m. the garlic city was teeming with folks who had flocked to Gilroy and were camping out at convenience stores, the Wal-Mart parking lot, In-N-Out Burger, Mi Pueblo and the Gilroy Premium Outlets. Some came prepared in cars stocked with duffle bags, food, blankets, water and household pets. Others said they hastily grabbed what they could – then got the heck out of Dodge.
“As soon as everybody heard, the gas stations were jammed with cars,” said a woman from the Rivas family who came over at 6:30 a.m. “Everything was very, very slow.”
The Rivas had parked their Suburban and set up camp in the Wal-Mart parking lot near the Chevron gas station. They were planning to stay for the day, they said.
Many described the scene in Watsonville as “chaotic,” mentioning Hecker Pass and Highway 129 were filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Brenda Prado, who also fled Watsonville for the day, said the roads were heavily congested and filled with errant drivers – some even driving on the wrong side of the street as they tried to exit town.
“People weren’t even making stops,” she said. “They were just running lights.”
Mi Pueblo on First Street was also teeming with visitors around 10:30 a.m.
As he sat outside and ate with family, Juan Medina said his party decided to take Highway 129 since Mount Madonna was “packed.” However that route, which Medina noted normally takes about 15 minutes, ended up taking an hour.
“It was chaotic,” he said. “The police were out too.”
The gas station on Monterey Road near Highway 101 was a hive of activity. People crowded benches in the picnic area, and the mini-mart’s cashier said customers had been filing in as early as 6 a.m. to purchase water, snacks and gas.
“We were stuck in traffic on Mount Madonna for an hour,” said Jennifer Flores, who had just arrived with her family and was sipping coffee outside in the parking lot.
She said they would probably spend the rest of the day at the outlets.
Though coastal residents are leaving nothing to chance, Joe Kline, the City of Gilroy’s public information officer, said at this time there are no significant regional South County impacts from the 23-foot tsunami that enveloped the east coast of Japan and injured thousands.
An “all clear” for the coast has been issued by the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services for 4 p.m.
Kline assured the situation is being constantly and closely monitored and updates will be provided as needed.
“Some residents from Watsonville and Santa Cruz County came to Gilroy early this morning in anticipation of predicted tsunamis,” he said. “That potential danger has now subsided. We are attempting to determine conditions in Takko Machi, Japan, one of Gilroy’s Sister Cities.”
Greg Bozzo, owner of G.B. Horticulture and 2010 Garlic Festival president, lived in Takko Machi for several years and said all of his friends over there were OK, but greatly “shaken up” in what seismologists have declared to be the biggest recorded earthquake in Japan’s history.
He said he hasn’t talked to anybody over the phone, but has been communicating with them via Facebook.
“Takko Machi is 250 miles north of where the tsunami hit, and inland,” he pointed out. “So they were in no danger of water, but got rocked pretty hard.”
He did say the devastating temblor cut electricity and phone lines the evening it happened; a frightening element for all of the residents who were affected.
“I guess that’s fairly significant, given Takko Machi is 250 miles away,” he said.
Tsunami alert passes without incident along coastline
