Less than 12 hours before a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Ocean Tuesday night and prompted a tsunami warning for the entire West Coast, a study was released showing most coastal residents are unaware of the hazard and are unprepared to respond.
Californians living in the most tsunami-prone areas Del Norte and Humboldt counties are more fearful of a tsunami and more likely to understand the urgency with which they'd need to respond, according to the study.
Matthew Davis, a professor of psychology at Dominican University of California, sent a questionnaire to 300 residents of coastal towns in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties.
The 31-question survey netted 85 responses this spring and generated the first social-science study to focus on tsunami awareness and preparedness in California, according to Davis.
Many people do not seem to realize how big a threat a tsunami could be, Davis said in a news release.
What worries me is that if a warning were issued, while many respondents from Del Norte and Humboldt counties said they would go inland, large numbers of people in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin said they would stay put and watch the waves, he said.
Even if their homes are fairly high above sea level, they may not be high enough to be safe, he added.
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Dirk van Ulden said:
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