October 1, 2009
By Laylan Connelly
The Orange County Register
Here in Orange County, lifeguard agencies asked people to stay away from the beaches when small tsunami waves slapped shores Tuesday night, and added extra units to make sure people were safe.
Photo: A tsunami warning sign, shown in December 2008, posted in Huntington Beach, line the coast in Orange County. The warning signs are also posted in Dana Point, San Clemente Laguna and Huntington Beach.
Despite the warnings, people showed up to watch as about a dozen small waves measuring about 6 inches high hit the Orange County shoreline.
The small increase in wave size happened along the 42 miles of Orange County coastline after an 8.0 earthquake off American Samoa caused a tsunami that has killed more than 100 people.
In Laguna Beach, lifeguards had to ask about five people who showed up on the boardwalk at Main Beach to leave, said Marine Safety Chief Kevin Snow.
Had the tsunami waves that reached Orange County been larger and threatening to residents, each city would employ different tactics to try to keep people along the coast safe.
A large-scale event like this prompts the question: Would O.C. be safe if a tsunami happened here?
Dana Point has sirens to warn people along the coast, while Laguna Beach and Seal Beach use a mass telephone system. San Clemente has a PA system for low-lying areas.
Orange County coastal cities started becoming more prepared for a tsunami after the 2004 massive earthquake off the coast of Indonesia triggered a tsunami that left 187,000 dead and 43,000 missing.
Orange County became one of the first "TsunamiReady" counties in the nation, a National Weather Service designation that recognizes communities that prepare for such events.
In most all coastal cities along Orange County's coast, signs are posted letting people know which way to run to get to higher ground.
A few years ago, a state report came out that showed a tsunami generated by a large offshore earthquake would threaten at least a million coastal residents in California, including thousands in Orange County.
The Orange County coast has had tsunamis in the past, Huntington Beach-based scientist Mark Legg told the Register in a past interview.
While large earthquakes offshore are rare, they have happened here in Southern California. There have been four offshore earthquakes stronger than magnitude 6 in the past 75 years.
There was a well-documented case in Southern California in 1927 that generated a tsunami, raising the ocean by six feet. There was no major damage because much of the coast was undeveloped.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tsunami-county-orange-2587981-people-beach
