On Wednesdays, the local coastal alarm system broadcasts a cow mooing. This is followed by a man explaining it’s only a test. It’s impossible to ignore, sounding loud even inside the house. The system exists to warn about potential danger, especially tsunamis. During a genuine emergency, we would first hear a siren and then receive specific instructions. Oh, boy. If only.

After the Alaska earthquake of 1965, the one where telephone poles in Seattle swayed back and forth and my junior high was evacuated—the resulting tsunami threw a drift log over the hedge and against the bottom of the sliding glass door of the atrium. The glass broke, but there was no other damage. Periodically, we’ve had tsunami Advisories, Warnings, and Evacuations. We have driven south to Neahkahnie Mountain maybe three decades ago and locally and more recently to high ground at St. Peter the Fisherman’s parking lot ten years ago. (This last is most famous because we picked up a nail and the local police officer pretended he didn’t have a jack that “will fit your car” so that we could change our tire.) One time, we had a 4″ (four inch) wave that you’d have to be watching very carefully to notice. Another year, a wave went right through a house a mile north of us, carrying a fridge along with it. That was just storm surge. We have never had tsunami damage since we moved to the family beachfront in 1979. Once, we lost shingles during a high wave that knocked our picnic table into the house.

That about brings us up to date.

Gary read about the Tonga volcano and resulting tsunami before 6am this morning. A friend in Seattle emailed me an hour later, “Are you okay?” Then our older son called to be sure we knew. Hawaii had experienced a tsunami of less than a meter. High tide would be just after 10am, the tsunami was expected here an hour or so before that. So we were not particularly concerned. This was only an Advisory to keep off the beach, not an evacuation Warning. What happens in Hawaii as a result of events on the other side of the world is a pretty reliable indication of the danger to us.

Then less than an hour ago, the siren went off. Everyone put on shoes, I collected condo-keys, put on a pair of earrings (this made sense to me at the time—why exactly?), and searched for my wallet with my vaccination record. Gary went out to talk to a neighbor who has a shortwave radio and is connected to the local emergency system. The siren went on and on without instructions. Dale had the answer: Apparently it was an accident.

The sun is coming out now. The Advisory was just about a smallish wave. We’re past high tide. Waves are washing up into the rock, but no where near our hedge.

We’re all fine here. I am going back to my loom.