50-plus boats damaged in ruined Northern CA harbor

CRESCENT CITY — Recovery crews say 50 vessels have been damaged, including 15 that sunk, in a fishing-dependent Northern California city hit hard by the tsunami surge after the earthquake in Japan.

Crescent City's inner harbor, which provided berths for more than 100 boats, was virtually destroyed by the waves.

California Department of Fish and Game spokeswoman Alexia Retallack says the local fishing industry has been devastated by the damage to the harbor.

Retallack says surging water and a weekend gale made an accurate damage count difficult before Monday.

Federal officials say they plan to send a team later this week with sonar equipment to help locate the sunken boats.