Week in Review : Unusual Tides Churn Up Interest but Little Damage : COUNTY

The most unusual tides in decades provoked a lot of public interest last week but little damage.

Hordes of visitors poked around tide pools at Orange County beaches during the extraordinarily low afternoon tides, which exposed unusual forms of sea life and moonscape-like stretches of rocks and sand seldom seen above water.

The counterpart, the extreme high tides in the morning, had threatened damage along the coast, and efforts were made to protect low-lying areas. The City of Newport Beach dispatched about 10,000 sandbags to various stores or residences in bay areas threatened by high tides.

The tides, however, came and went with negligible damage.