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Subscribe to RSSA nearly 70-foot-long dock floated onto an Oregon beach after being torn loose from a fishing port in Japan after the tsunami. Mark Hanrahan reports from NBC's Portland, Ore., affiliate.
A large dock that floated onto an Oregon beach is debris from last year's tsunami in Japan, Japan's consulate in Portland said Wednesday.
The 66-foot-long dock, which had been in use in an area hit by the March 2011 tsunami, is the largest piece of debris discovered on North America's shores so far.
"It’s one of four floating docks washed away by the tsunami, which means there are three more floating somewhere possibly," OregonLive.com quoted Deputy Consul General Hirofumi Murabayashi as saying.
A check for any radiation from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant came up negative, said Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation spokesman Chris Havel.
The department is overseeing efforts to remove the dock but hasn't decided yet whether to demolish it on site or have it towed off. "You can't preplan for stuff like this," Havel told msnbc.com.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept
This Japanese dock washed ashore on an Oregon beach Tuesday.
A starfish native to Japan was found clutching to the structure, Havel said, adding that another concern is to keep out any nonnative species that might have hitched a ride on the dock.
The dock, which is 19 feet wide and 7 feet high, washed ashore Tuesday on Agate Beach, a mile north of Newport in central Oregon.
Small groups had already gathered to see the dock and state police were posted to keep people from climbing on it.
"I think that's going to change to large crowds," Havel said.
Some tsunami debris has begun arriving in recent weeks, including a soccer ball that washed up in Alaska and a shipping container holding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle with Japanese license plates that turned up in British Columbia.
Debris continues to cross the Pacific, this time from a middle school destroyed by the tsunami. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Most debris is not expected until winter.
Anyone finding debris thought to be from the tsunami is advised to report it to DisasterDebris@noaa.gov.
Buoys, bottles and cans believed to be from the Japan tsunami are surfacing in Washington State, Alaska and British Columbia, and scientists say the mess will be there for generations. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Never mind the debris. How much RADIATION is in the water? I heard it was 4x the normal amount. This radiation is absorbed by algea which is eaten by fish and then eaten by humans. I also heard that the crops from California have higher levels of radiation than normal. More is coming our way.
Send the Japs a certified letter asking them to remove this thing. If they do not remove it within 10 days put a ticket on it. When it has about 20 tickets tow it to the parking violations impound lot. After about a year it can be auctioned off. Someone will love it. Could be made into a very large coffee table, a theme park ride. if all else fails some Republican will find a use for it and get a tax credit to boot! Better on the west coast than New York harbor.
Put Obama and friends on it and send it adrift. They have been drifting for almost 4 years now anyway. Name it the Titanic and Obama as Captain.
That has got to be the best comment yet!!!
Let's just tow it all south and let it wash up on Mexican beaches.... sort of a give back program. So Japland is not financially responsible for any of this? USA takes it up the kazzoo again.
Come on, admit it. That's the way you like it
Tell the Japs to remove their junk. Why should we pay for it?
It is a very well built dock because it had survived years of use, a tsunami and a long trip across the Pacific. If I could have it, I will built a small house and a few sails to travel the world.
LOL. can anyone tell me why i can hear the jaws theme while reading this article. and as far as the negative comments go. you people could learn allot from the Japanese. at least they country isn't half owned by the Chinese.
I've read many, many of the posts here and I have to say; none of this is even close to my first thoughts! When I read about the starfish, my immediate reaction was to wonder if this is how so many non-native species came to inhabit other places. Not just that they are illegally imported/exported or innocently "hitch" a ride on cargo, but it would explain how some species migrate to places that are not native to them. Before the haters start with "floating dock" comments; I was really thinking that fallen trees, canoes or anything else that ancient people might have built and lost to the oceans. Just a thought...
I love radioactive debris.
So much for Homeland Security, that an object this size can even approach the US coast undetected, satellite scrutiny be damned.
And now, more ominously despite all the frivolous comment here, what to do about the marine micro organisms that have been inadvertently imported by the US from Asia? Although it might take some time to see any result, these aliens can have the potential to destroy native marine ecosystems. I'll bet that's gonna piss y'all off.
The distribution of these micro organisms around the planet is a recognised problem in relation to the carriage and discharge of ballast water by commercial shipping. Steps to address the issue are already being 'quietly' implemented on a wide scale, an effort that is belittled somewhat by the arrival of this piece of junk on an Oregon beach.
I hate too make a joke about a tragedy. But if your thinking about visiting Japan, not to worry, Japan will come to you.
"Just sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away". Yo Otis, We miss you man.
@slightlyold Don't believe Quacked One was hating on anyone
He was hating on the U.S.
I thought it was a $500 dollar fine to litter in Oregon, pay up Japan!!
If there are so many potentially invasive species riding on it,why weren't they/it destroyed before it got here? Thx eggheads
Blather blather blather
Maybe they can sell it on ebay