Tsunamis in Venice?

The "Tsunami Evacuation Route" signs have been up for a while now ... they just appeared one day, without any explanation. Do you know what to do in the event of a Tsunami? Just follow the signs? Yesterday's few hours long blackout in Venice - just as a result of high winds - made us feel pretty scantily prepared in the event of any big deal disaster, so I thought we should at least stop and think about it for a second.

Venice is obviously a low-lying Coastal Area, and that means we're in the "Red Zone" for Evacuation if a Tsunami should hit. You just stop what you're doing and head to higher ground. Period. They explain it all fairly well here. You can download a good pdf about Tsunami Evacuations at www.lacity.org/epd too. The main thing to remember is that if you feel an Earthquake, get to higher ground by any means necessary ... car, bike, or foot.

They suggest some things that you'll want already in a bag - to GO - like:

Food and water
Medications and copies of Prescriptions
Change of clothes and shoes
Personal hygiene/First Aid Supplies
Pet care supplies
Baby stuff (diapers, formula, etc ...)
Copies of Important documents

I have a new neighbor who is psychic (had a shop for 15 years psychic - I'm always more impressed if they can pay rent on an actual structure with their abilities, for some reason) and she told me that I should be aware that there WILL be a major natural disaster involving water (in other words, a Tsunami) in the next two years in Southern California. I told her I'd seen the signs and wondered about it, and she said, "They're up because it is GOING to happen."

Eek. She's lived here most of her life and said, "I know that it's time for me to go." I don't find myself there in my thinking yet, but whatever the future holds - it's good to be prepared, not scared.

And have a lot of fun while you can!