A study warns of a possible 1,000-foot-tall “mega tsunami” that could devastate parts of America if a major earthquake strikes the Cascadia subduction zone within the next 50 years.
Alaska, Hawaii, and the West Coast are most vulnerable due to the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault line that runs from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, California.
According to a study conducted by Virginia Tech geoscientists, there is a 15% chance that a magnitude 8.0 earthquake will strike the region within the next 50 years, potentially sinking coastal land by up to 6.5 feet and affecting cities like Seattle and Portland.
Mega-tsunamis, distinguished by their extreme wave heights, differ from ordinary tsunamis and climate-driven events in that they occur quickly, “within minutes,” allowing no time for adaptation.
The most severe effects are expected in southern Washington, northern Oregon, and northern California, with Alaska and Hawaii also at risk due to their seismic and volcanic profiles; the last major earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone occurred in 1700.