This just happens to be Tsunami Awareness and Preparedness Week in California…something that state officials had scheduled well before the March 11^th tsunami that caused more than $50 million in damage to the state.

 

"What we didn't realize when we were planning this up to six months ago is that we'd have a tsunami."

 

Rick Wilson is an engineering geologist with the California Geological Survey. He says many people didn't take the March 11^th tsunami warnings seriously.

 

"There were a lot of people on their boats that were actually staying in them during the tsunami in harbors like Santa Cruz and Crescent City. This is a very big problem. Although we did lose one person who was observing the tsunami up on the Klamath River, we could have had many more casualties."  

 

Wilson and other scientists with the state Geological Survey have released more than 100 maps showing the maximum tsunami inundation potential for vulnerable areas along the coast.

 

The agency is currently working on land use planning maps designed to help coastal communities better prepare for tsunamis.