I don't have a problem with how the L.A. County department and the local police called this incident - specifically as it applies to where we are in southern California. Their expectations were right on the money. We typically see a lot of dissipation in the strength of these tsunami waves by the time they travel long distances and reach southern California. It may be due to the specific orientation of our coastline, and possibly the ocean topography where we live. The real factor for us is watching how big the tsunami is when it reaches Hawaii and Oregon. That's a helpful clue.

ParamedicPete: I'm not sure why Crescent City, CA was affected as much as it was. That's a good question. It may have something to do with the coastline up there, and how waves gets funneled into that location (or maybe how the ocean bottom rises there). By the way - on a totally separate subject I tried to send you a PM today. Apparently your PM inbox is filled up.

I suspect that the same thing is true in Japan at Sendai - there is a potential build-up of tsunami energy in some places as the energy gets channeled by the coastline and ocean bottom. If anyone sees any more analysis by experts ... I'd like to see that.

UPDATE: I just talked to a guy here in So. Cal who tells me that there is a history of tsunami effects in Crescent City. Something about the ocean structure there amplifies the effects of tsunamis coming from Asia. I guess the city authorities have learned about this from previous experience. That is why they asked all the boat owners to sail out of the port before the tsunami arrived today.

Meanwhile, here is a global map of the size of the tsunami as it was predicted to spread out from Japan. Maybe this data is what led various communities to adjust their response to the wave. However, this model doesn't explain why Crescent City got such a big response.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12715415

other Pete