After learning of the tragedy that struck Japan late in the evening on Thursday, the enormity of the situation had barely sunk in before news about a possible tsunami on the west coast of the U.S. was making headlines.
Living about 3.5 miles from the La Jolla coast, I wasn’t too worried about my home and family because the likelihood of a tsunami reaching that far inland is bleak. However, the constant interviews with tsunami and earthquake experts on CNN, FOX, and every other channel, did begin to jolt my inner belief that I was safe. The news that the Hawaiian Islands would be the first hit by a tsunami forced me to stay awake into the early morning hours for curiosity of what impact the tsunami would have to a coast within closer proximity to the quake.
I breathed a sigh of relief when around 5 am PST, the tsunami struck the Hawaiian islands with little to no damage. My logic was that over the distance the tsunami would have to travel from Hawaii to the California Coast, it would surely loose steam by the time it reached my state (naïve thinking, I know). All in all, the California coast did experience some damage from the Tsunami and one casualty (a photographer who got caught in the tsunami near the coast of northern California. Here in southern California, though, the impact was nothing more than elevated water levels and interested individuals highlighted on the news for being at the beach when the tsunami was supposed to occur.
All in all, California got off easy this time. Japan on the other hand, sadly not so much. Like people all over the world, I keep turning on the news only to find that the number of casualties from Japan’s tsunami is continuously rising. The tsunami (as with any natural disaster) has made me realize how fragile life is. Really, it shouldn’t take a natural disaster for people to re-evaluate their appreciation for life. This tragedy has reminded me that I have no control over what will happen tomorrow and that I’d better live each moment to the fullest.
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