The other day I received an emergency bulletin from the US embassy indicating that there were severe tsunami warnings along the coast. They were expecting 30 waves to hit sometime in mid-afternoon on Sunday. The tsunami – incidentally a Japanese word – would be a result of the huge 8.8 earthquake in Chile.
That afternoon I was rushing to the airport by train escorting visitors who were leaving that day. I noticed several train lines along the coast were closed due to expected high waves. Fortunately we had planned an inland route. By the time I got home I had heard that there was no cause for alarm and the tsunami did not come. We live far from the coast so normally do not pay as close attention. Now scientists are debating what happened and why. I guess with tsunami’s it is always good to err on the side of caution.