Last week, just after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake violently shook the eastern edge of Russia , Californians were warned to gird for possible impact: a tsunami was headed across the ocean, taking aim at the shores of California.

RELATED: Tsunami surge causes turbulence at Santa Cruz Harbor

Across the region, state and local officials quickly deployed. They closed beaches and patrolled harbors, warning people to get out of the water and stay clear of the shoreline. Public safety agencies urged calm while offering imprecise predictions of exactly what might occur in a few hours when the waves arrived. All of that helped induce and feed general anxiety in folks who live and work along the coast, making them wonder: How serious is this?

As it turned out, little damage was reported acros

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