Two Tornadoes on Oregon Coast; Manzanita Severely Damaged, Video

Published 10/14/2016 at 6:51 PM PDT - Updated 10/14/2016 at 6:59 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Manzanita, Oregon) - Two tornadoes touched down on the Oregon coast this morning: one briefly in Oceanside that did no damage but another in Manzanita that ravaged the town. There, one third of the trees were taken down, 128 homes were damaged and several businesses torn apart. (Tornado photo above by Tyler Ryals. Storm damage photos by Amy VanDyke, Sunset Vacation Rentals).

No one was injured. The mayor has declared a state of emergency in Manzanita.

The tornado has been designated an EF2.

Currently, some 3,000 residents in the area are without power, and with Saturday's hurricane-force winds coming in it's uncertain there will be any power for days. As of 6:30 p.m., power is just starting to come back on in town in some places, however.

Some residents are reporting police are not letting anyone into town that is not a resident in earlier in the day. A few businesses – including Moxie and Manzanita Sweets – have had their structures nearly demolished.

All of this began in the early in the morning, as the National Weather Service (NWS) in Portland issued a record ten tornado watches for Oregon, including a tornado warning for Tillamook County at about 8:52 a.m. But the actual tornado had already touched down in Manzanita by then, hitting at 8:20 a.m.

Brian Hines, owner of the San Dune Inn, called Oregon Coast Beach Connection shortly after.

“It's a bloody shambles,” Hines said. “There are buildings down, trees down, no power, and the place is filled with medics. I felt the vacuum here, the sudden no pressure. We're OK. We got a new roof on, and it's OK, thank God.”

The tornado went almost straight up Laneda Ave. as if gunning for the downtown area.

Absolutely jaw-dropping video taken by an Oregon resident from the Neahkahnie overlooks above Manzanita show the twister turning from a water spout to a tornado as it hits the shore, then you can see power lines and transformers explode in a massive flash of light.

Amy VanDyke of Sunset Vacation Rentals reports the business office on Laneda is unscathed, but several of their rental homes have been damaged.

One house in town had its roof completely ripped off. Another appears to have been actually moved, and is not only in tatters but now at a sloped angle.

Tornadoes on the Oregon coast are extremely rare. In December of 2010, a small one quickly touched down on the beach at Lincoln City and tore up parts of the Seahorse Motel. It was refurbished within a year.

The NWS has said it has never issued more than three tornado warnings in one day, making this morning's ten alerts a soaring record. See more video, updates and photos on the OCBC Facebook page.

In Oceanside, the small tornado touched down only briefly and then appeared to break apart almost immediately. There are no reports of damage. Map and Virtual Tour

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

 

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details