The statement is hollow so long as people still can stake their dollars on the calamities befalling everyday Angelenos.

When calamities happen, the person at top — whether mayor, governor or president — usually gets the first barbs thrown at them, fairly or not.

We are all just one weather calamity away from becoming displaced.

But despite its challenging history with seaside calamities, meteorologists say Santa Cruz is positioned in a geographically advantageous way — facing south into Monterey Bay.

Its namesake bell, changed out for a siren in the 1920s, was meant to avoid such calamities in the future.