Results of a new study by Virginia Tech have created frightening prospects of disaster via a mega-tsunami on the US Pacific Coast. This study throws light on the devastating consequences should a colossal earthquake (with a magnitude of 8.0 or higher) explode in the Cascadia Subduction Zone by causing staggering waves that might rise to 1,000 feet. Cities such as Seattle and Portland are at the greatest risk of such a quake, with a 15 percent chance of such a calamity happening within a span of 50 years. There is a warning by scientists that millions would be displaced, and it would likely take decades before recovery.
Mega-Tsunami Threat: The Cascadia Fault’s Hidden Danger
The Cascadia Subduction Zone runs close to 600 miles along the coast of Canada and the extreme west of Canada, and as far as Cape Mendocino in California. This fault line has been dormant for centuries, but it is only the scientists who warn that silence is not synonymous with safety. A Virginia Tech study said rupture of this fault could submerge the coastal terrain by more than six feet, and walls of water would surge over inhabited coasts in a few minutes.
The impact of the tragedy would fall on such cities as Seattle, Portland, and coastal communities of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Scientists predict that over 30,000 people might die, and all of them will incur an economic loss of over 80 billion dollars. Critical infrastructure such as hospitals, power grid, transport, and water supply would be disrupted on a long-term scale, which will extend the process to decades.
Unlike threats caused by climatic changes, this catastrophe would hit swiftly, and it would not give individuals time to adapt or to slowly reduce its impact. Dr. Tina Dura, the author of the study, elaborated: The effects of the post-earthquake Situation on land use have not been quantified previously, and the time involved to recover may significantly increase.
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History, Risks, and Preparation
A megaquake was last detected in Cascadia in 1700 and produced a tsunami that spread all the way into Japan. Geologic indications indicate that these are the strong shakes with a cycle of every 400 to 600 years. Experts are worried that the region has been long overdue given that it has been more than three hundred years since the last of such events. Tension keeps intensifying as the plate Juan De Fuca drags under that of North America, and the risk intensifies with regards to seismic perils.
A team at Virginia Tech employed sophisticated computer models, and after carrying out thousands of simulations, came to the conclusion that the size can be much larger than what is shown on the current hazard maps. Flooding can be catastrophic to communities that were not deemed as being at high risk.
Southern Washington, northern Oregon, and northern California are the areas most susceptible. Alaska and Hawaii although far could also have severity as a result of their seismic and volcanic nature. The increase of the sea level in the future decades could do nothing but aggravate the flood effects.
Scientists have emphasized that active intervention is necessary to minimize the risk of the threat because of its scale. Reliable early-warning systems, tough building standards as well as properly designed evacuation routes are essential to be invested. Such life-saving drills can apply frequently to the community as a whole and during a sudden disaster.
There is one thing, which the study contends: purposeful planning is indispensible. In its absence, the Pacific Northwest might bear one of the most devastating natural events in the history of modernity.
