Some of the tsunami damage in Chip's state

http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2011/03/southern_oregon_tsunami_damage.html

This is obviously nothing on the level of what happened in Japan as far as damage, but illustrates the power of this disaster regardless.  The town of Brookings is a place I used to visit often.  The last time I was there, my wife and I were walking on the beach and discussed "Hey, what would it be like if there was a tsunami here?"  Four hours after we left, there was an earthquake out to sea and a tsunami warning.  It really made us think, and now here is visceral evidence of the power of nature and why people prepare.