There was a very well-written article in the New Yorker (I think) about the Cascadia fault zone. Lots of interviews with locals, etc.
One small town 11 minutes or so from the tsunami was interesting to hear about. The mayor or somesuch talked about their plans, but with only 11 minutes of warning there is only so much they could do.
He said the had plans for the schools where the kids might make it out quick enough. For the little hospital and two small nursing homes he said the workers would attempt to flee by themselves leaving the patients behind. If they tried to move the sick and elderly there wouldn’t be time for anybody to live. At least the plan hoped that the workers would live and be able to treat other survivors.
Last week I watched a video documentary about the Japanese tsunami in one city. They had disaster sirens sounding off, and government workers driving around with loudspeakers warning people that the tsunami was coming and that they should evacuate immediately to higher ground. Some people scattered, but the majority leisurely started walking to higher ground. After all, the water in surrounding creeks was only rising a few inches a minute. To their credit, the workers with loudspeakers kept telling people to go! Then the water came in faster and faster, with many people swept away to their deaths, including some of the vehicles that were warning the people to leave. A lot of these people just didn't believe they were in danger. So sad.