What's Your Take on the Tsunami Advisory in Santa Monica?

On Friday, was issued throughout coastal cities in Southern California—including Santa Monica—following a massive earthquake that rocked the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

In the end, the biggest waves at measured 2.8 feet high, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

(Go to see a photo gallery of images from the beach and on Friday.)

A tsunami advisory means that "a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or very near the water is expected," according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. A tsunami watch, which is a milder alert, is "issued to alert emergency management officials and the public of an event which may later impact the watch area," the center says.

Do you think the tsunami advisory issued by NOAA was appropriate, especially in light of the 8.9 magnitude of the earthquake that occurred in Japan? Should the alert have been a tsunami watch instead? Or should an alert not have been issued at all?

Share your thoughts in the comments box below.