Im sure many forum members have seen reports of the deadly slide here.The tsunami tragedy makes it minute in comparison, but there are plenty of lessons. La Conchita is a short trip north of me on the Pacific Coast Highway. This major route is still closed and traffic and commerce impacted. The body count slowly climbs. Gov. Swartzenegger made an appearance and actually promised the residents their community would be restored. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> There was a major slide there in 1995 with home loss. The result was a farcical retaining wall that should have had graffiti spraypainted saying PLACEBO. No matter that nobody could secure new home financing or geologists stated it would happen again. No matter an earlier, smaller slide and water leaking through the wall gave warning. Another housing track suffering home loss wants to file suit. A retaining wall there was denied to protect our endangered Steelhead 'fish thing' as reported by a Fox 11 newswoman. No matter the tract is one of several statewide built IN a floodplain BELOW wide banks that actually look down on 2 story rooftops. Lessons? Few places in the world are free of potential natural catastrophe. An acquaintance moved after the Northridge quake and was killed in a tornado. I do think common sense and hard geological and meteorologic science should take precedence over calculated risk and wishfull thinking- even by Conan the Barbarian <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />