MASSIVE Tsunami to hit the US Pacific Coast? Scientist issues 1,000-foot MEGA tsunami alert, says…

New Delhi: In a concerning development, the scientists have issued a potentially destructive mega-tsunami alert that likely to strike parts of the US Pacific Coast, triggered by a major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ). Spreading from Northern California to Vancouver Island, the fault line accumulates massive tectonic stress as the Juan de Fuca Plate slides beneath the North American Plate.

According to the researchers from Virginia tech, led by geoscientist Tina Dura, there is a 15 percent chance of a magnitude 8.0 or greater earthquake occurring along the CSZ within the next 50 years. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an event like this could sink coastal land suddenly by up to 6.5 feet, dramatically expanding floodplains and generating tsunami waves hundreds of feet high, posing unprecedented risks to millions of residents, critical infrastructure, and ecosystems along the West Coast.

Here are some of the key details you need to know:

  • According to the Virginia Tech research team, the Cascadia Subduction Zone is one of North America’s most hazardous fault lines
  • Over centuries, tectonic stress builds as the oceanic Juan de Fuca Plate is forced beneath the North American Plate.
  • When this stress is released during a major earthquake, coastal regions could experience sudden land subsidence
  • This movement could dramatically increasing floodplain areas and altering shorelines.
  • The last great earthquake along this fault occurred in 1700, triggering a tsunami recorded as far away as Japan.
  • The Virginia Tech study emphasizes that a similar event today would have far more devastating effects due to dense populations, developed urban infrastructure, and critical transportation networks along the coast.

Which are areas of high risk?

Southern Washington, northern Oregon, and northern California are the regions which are most vulnerable to flooding from a CSZ mega-tsunami.

As per the study, Alaska and Hawaii may face tsunami risks due to their own seismic activity. It is important to note that they are geographically farther from the CSZ and would experience less immediate threat.

Low-lying coastal zones along the fault line could face permanent inundation, particularly when combined with climate-driven sea level rise projected by 2100.

Mega-tsunami threat

A major CSZ earthquake could generate a “mega-tsunami” with waves potentially reaching up to 1,000 feet, according to simulations conducted by Dura and her team. This tsunami will far cross typical tsunami heights of only a few feet. Coastal cities including Seattle, Portland, and towns in northern California could be submerged within minutes.

The Virginia Tech study ran tens of thousands of models, showing that thousands more people, buildings, and miles of roads would be exposed to flooding than current hazard maps predict. Researchers stress that such an event would merge sudden ground subsidence with towering waves, producing conditions unlike any tsunami previously recorded in the region.

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