Tsunami or Not Tsunami? That is the question.

Bad pun. I apologize.

We spent last Christmas as guests of our son's in-laws in a cottage just at the mouth of Coos Bay, Oregon, not far up the coast from the site of a Richter 7.4 earthquake about 80 miles off the coast at Eureka, California. So I paid attention when I heard there was a tsunami alert along the whole west coast tonight, especially since our hosts live near there, but probably too high up to be affected by a wave of 30 feet. Apparently the quake wasn't the type that produces tsunamis, and the warning was cancelled shortly after it was issued.

Part of the charm of that cottage was the fact that it looked almost directly on the ocean, but the weather was mild at the time. That coast must be pretty fearsome during a storm. The Oregon Coast shows the effects of pounding from huge winds and waves, which is what makes it so gorgeous. While we were there the news about the South Asian tsunami came. Nothing like being only yards from the shore to bring stories like that home.

I've always thought it would be nice to live beside the sea, but after seeing programs about the potential for mega-landslides from Hawaii and the Canary Islands, I think I might prefer to live close enough to visit on weekends.