What if you woke up one morning and found the water rushing at your house? Scientists argue that the dangerous situation isn’t simply a movie storyline; it’s a real possibility in three sections of the U.S.
Scientists are warning about a probable “mega tsunami” that may wipe out entire cities from Northern California to Washington State. Alaska and Hawaii are also in a lot of danger.
What is the danger? A big earthquake near the Cascadia subduction zone, which is a sleeping monster, may make things even worse.
Where do the Cascadia plates meet?
This fault line goes from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino in California. It might trigger a major earthquake that would not only force land to fall apart, but also a large tsunami that could destroy whole communities.
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows the risk: experts from Virginia Tech say that an earthquake in this area may force the ground to sink by up to 6½ feet, which would make coastal floodplains much bigger.
Tina Dura, the main author of the study and an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, said, “We have never measured how much the coastal floodplain grew after a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.”
“The effects on land use could make it take a lot longer to get back to normal.”
What scares me the most? Experts say there is a 15% chance that this fault could cause an earthquake of 8.0 or higher in the next 50 years.
Why could something be so bad?
When a landslide, volcanic eruption, or earthquake moves large parts of the Earth’s crust, the ocean water that comes out could cause a huge tsunami. These waves are not at all like the ones you see at the beach. They can be hundreds of feet tall and move at terrifying speeds, devastating everything in their way.
People are worried about more than just the shaking in the Pacific Northwest. They’re also worried about the aftershocks, the ground sinking, and the possibility of massive waves crashing into the coast.
“Cascadia is a one-of-a-kind place.” Dura added, “There is a community in most estuaries, and they are all in the zone of subsidence.”
“I think the subsidence could have a bigger effect than in other big earthquakes.”
Hawaii and Alaska are also at risk.
The Daily Mail adds that Alaska is growing more vulnerable as glaciers melt, which makes rocks less solid and raises the chance of landslides. People already know that Alaska has a lot of earthquakes and rugged land.
Hawaii, on the other hand, has a sad history of huge tsunamis that happened when its volcanoes fell apart. Around 105,000 years ago, a massive piece of land broke off and a wave that was 1,000 feet high hit Lanai.
The threat is still there, though.
Two of Hawaii’s most active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, continually shifting islands because of lava flows and unstable ground. Kilauea erupted as recently as May 16, which served as a reminder that the island’s volcanoes are still very much alive.
The fire ring is becoming hotter.
Geologists call all of this the “Ring of Fire.” It’s a massive area around the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates hit each other. This creates the biggest earthquakes and the most deadly volcano eruptions in the planet.
When was the last time the Cascadia subduction zone really erupted? It’s January 26, 1700. That means that the area has been waiting too long for another large quake.
What can you do?
You can’t stop a tsunami, but you can get ready for it. Know how to get out of your location in an emergency, keep up with alerts, and talk to your family about what to do. Experts may not know when the next big earthquake will come, but they are convinced that it will happen.
If you reside near the West Coast, this message isn’t meant to scare you; it’s meant to wake you awake.
