How Can They Screw Up Something As Simple As Tsunami Signs?

The City of L.A. is doing us a favor by posting more Tsunami warning signs. Problem is, they’re inaccurate, and possibly dangerous.

This sign on Abbot Kinney Blvd. is right in the middle of the Tsunami Evacuation Area, according to a city of Los Angeles publication (see above).

Other signs near Lincoln Blvd. claim that you’re leaving the hazard zone when that might not be true.

Yet to appear are signs where the most tourists congregate, on Ocean Front Walk.

The Japan Tsunami last month went as much as six miles inland. In comparison, the San Diego Freeway is only 3.6 miles from the beach.

No one knows how fierce a Tsunami would be if it struck Santa Monica Bay. In 1958, a Tsunami 1700 feet tall hit Lituya Bay, Alaska. The Japanese waves topped out at 23 feet.

Matthew Hornbach, a researcher at the University of Texas says that Southern California Tsunamis may be more frequent – and dangerous – than previously thought. That’s because submarine landslides can, and have, triggered some of the world’s most destructive Tsunamis. The ocean topography off our coast can lend itself to underwater slides.

Perhaps L.A. would do better to stop guessing, and urge Venetians and tourists to seek higher ground. The Fourth Street hill, north of Rose Avenue is the closest high ground. A safe haven can also be found north and east of the intersection of Rose Avenue and Walgrove Avenue.

Experts say that if you don’t have time to reach high ground, go to the upper stories of a building. Even climbing a sturdy tree can save lives.