Sounds like a scary place, and after the events of last night and this morning, it unarguably is. This morning I woke up to the news being flooded with information about a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake that devastatingly struck Japan. Following the quake, a 30 foot wall of water ripped through the country, washing away everything in its path. ‘Horrific’ does not even begin to describe the scene in Japan this morning.

The tsunami threat has been extended to the West coast of the US, and has likely already devastated parts of coastal Hawaii. While this type of natural disaster jumps into the limelight given that it is a fairly rare occurrence, it is something that we should be paying much closer attention to.

Those of us who spend every day out on the water know just how powerful the ocean is. Throw in the wrath of the Ring of Fire, and it commands a new level of respect. Complicating the issue is our (humans) tendency to reside and establish commerce along coastal waterways. With population on the rise, these coastal areas are just packed, and thus more vulnerable.

To those facing tsunami threats today…be smart and take precautions. Despite all of our predictive models, sensors, and related data – the ocean is as unpredictable as they come.