When I first saw this tsunami warning sign at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, I thought it kind of ridiculous. I had never heard of a tsunami in California, and I assumed it was just another instance of local governments protecting themselves from the litigation-happy populace (which is probably still true). I figured they wanted to cover all the bases, and protect themselves in case some freak act of nature brought a tsunami to our shore. And this seems sort of logical considering that we do live in a time when nature is pretty unpredictable–i.e. Katrina and the 73 degree weather presently blessing the residents of San Francisco in January.
Furthermore, I found the sign a little absurd. Wouldn’t the most logical thing be to run to high ground if you saw a 20 foot wave coming to shore? You wouldn’t run to the wave. I guess it’s just another instance of common sense not being that common.
Before I decided to level some sarcastic and belittling judgment on Joe Public and the City of San Francisco, a little research was in order.
Low and behold, the Internet provided the answers against being a skeptical douche. The State of California’s Department of Conservation website has a Geological Survey dedicated to tsunamis. And, yes, it does seem that there is some possibility of a Tsunami striking Ocean Beach based on evidence from the earthquake off of Cape Mendocino on April 25, 1992.
The Moral: Do your research before you become a skeptical douche like me.
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hi! thanks for writing facts about tsunimi. thanks!