Sneaker Wave Sweeps Girl Into the Surf at Cannon Beach, Oregon: Parents Rush In and Pull Her Out as Video Spreads
At about 9 a.m. on November 8, at Cannon Beach in Clatsop County, Oregon, a young girl was swept into the surf by a sneaker wave that rushed suddenly up the beach, and the adults believed to be her parents ran into the water and pulled her back to shore. According to KPTV, the woman who filmed the moment said everyone appeared to walk away safely, and the girl's name and age have not been reported. The video has since spread across social media and television news, with Good Morning America and Fox Weather both airing the rescue on November 11.
The video was recorded by Karin Kelsey Madsen of Beaverton, who was on the beach with her husband. She told KATU that she did not notice at first that a child was in trouble, then saw the child swept up by the wave "like a rag doll," saying the moment "just took my breath away." Speaking with KPTV, she added: "I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother of three, you know, young grandchildren. My heart just sank." She said her husband kept running toward the family to see whether they needed help, and that the beach was full of families that morning, many of whom ignored officials' warnings to stay out of the water, while large logs were being moved by the incoming tide all day. KGW also aired the video on Monday night.
The weekend did not come without warning. The National Weather Service office in Portland issued a Beach Hazards Statement on November 5 for the north and central Oregon coast and the south Washington coast, warning that waves could run up significantly farther on a beach than normal, including over rocks and jetties. An update on November 6 added a High Surf Advisory for Sunday from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m., with breakers up to 28 feet and a warning that destructive waves could wash over beaches, jetties and other structures unexpectedly. The girl was swept in about five hours into that advisory.
Jason Smith, deputy chief of the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District, told KPTV that crews saw several people get caught on Sunday: "Storms bring storm surge and storm surge means waves running up the beach way faster and farther than normal, and Sunday we watched multiple people outrun the waves and they can't, and it gets multiple people hit." The same weekend, at Winchester Bay down the coast, another video showed two men and a dog trying to outrun sneaker waves; the men made it to higher ground among the logs, the dog went under in the surf and was reportedly rescued.
The danger has not passed. In its forecast discussion early on November 10, the weather service's Portland office said a moderate to high sneaker wave threat would continue along the coast through the week, with a westerly swell building from 10 to 12 feet to 14 to 16 feet by midweek and possible tidal overflow flooding on Tuesday and Wednesday. Forecasters said confidence was growing that a stronger swell of 20 to 24 feet would reach the coast on Saturday, and warned that the run-up could knock loose beach logs that roll up and down the sand, which have historically killed or seriously injured unsuspecting people. The Cannon Beach fire district is increasing beach patrols ahead of the weekend, according to KPTV. The National Weather Service says there can be 10 to 20 minutes of small waves before a sneaker wave strikes, and that these waves can run at least 150 feet up the beach into dry sand; Oregon State Parks calls them "unpredictable, powerful" waves that "can easily knock adults off their feet," and advises beachgoers never to turn their back on the ocean, to keep children and pets away from the surf zone, and to stay off logs, rocks and jetties near the waterline.
Source: KPTV
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Cannon Beach与草垛岩资料图（King of Hearts摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons），非事发现场，已裁为精确16:9。/ Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock (file photo by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons); not the incident scene. Pre-cropped to an exact 16:9 frame.
