California’s tsunami alert was a mess for many. Here’s why

The tsunami warning that came screaming through my cell phone at 10:51 a.m. was blunt: "You are in danger." The warning applied to 5.3 million people in California, according to the Associated Press, although not all received it — and many who did were shocked into disbelief. A tsunami here? Impossible, I thought, at first. I live east of San Francisco, more than a mile inland from the Bay shoreline, about two hundred feet above sea level. Then I thought: I need to get to my kids. SEE ALSO