Dana Wharf boat captain Todd Mansur felt the strong ocean surge tugging at the 65-foot fishing boat as he pulled the vessel out of the Dana Point Harbor.
There was no big rise or fall of the saltwater, just a few inches of ocean level change generated by the eruption of an undersea volcano near the Polynesian island chain of Tonga. But the tsunami’s presence was felt in the water’s turbulent current, making it difficult to control the massive boat.
Southern California has escaped major damage through the years from tsunamis, with the state’s northern coastline more often taking the brunt of the damage, but that doesn’t mean the giant waves couldn’t some day happen here – and officials want people close to the coast to be prepared.
This week’s Tsunami Preparedness Week has been a chance for cities and emergency preparedness officials to remind people living near or visiting the coast to know how to stay safe if water comes surging onto the shoreline.
Dana Point joined other coastal cities in putting out social media educational blasts, while Long Beach held a tsunami preparedness panel discussion at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
A massive earthquake and resulting tsunami in 2004 off the coast of Indonesia that left at least 230,000 people dead prompted coastal towns to improve their emergency planning and signs went up in low-lying areas to teach people about the warnings of a tsunami.
“A tsunami is one of nature’s most powerful and destructive forces,” The Tsunami Zone warns. The website is dedicated to preparedness and resources relating to tsunami hazards.
Tsunamis are actually a series of extremely long waves caused by a large and sudden displacement of the ocean, typically after an earthquake.
Read the full article here
