00:00What if a tsunami dozens of stories high slammed the U.S. west coast? In minutes?
00:05Scientists say the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault off the Pacific Northwest,
00:10is building pressure as the Juan de Fuca Plate dives beneath North America.
00:14They warn there's up to a 15% chance of a magnitude 8-1 earthquake in the next 50 years.
00:20If that quake strikes, coastal land could drop nearly 6.5 feet instantly,
00:25expanding flood zones and unleashing monstrous waves.
00:29In simulations, researchers found that such an event could spawn a mega tsunami
00:34with waves up to 1,000 feet high, far beyond anything seen before.
00:39Cities like Seattle, Portland, and parts of Northern California could be submerged within minutes.
00:44Because the land shift and wave arrival would be nearly simultaneous,
00:48evacuation windows could be extremely short.
00:51The researchers urge urgent upgrades to early warning systems,
00:55resilient infrastructure, and community evacuation planning.
00:58They emphasize, we can't stop earthquakes, but we can prepare to save lives.
01:03A 1,000-foot wave sounds like science fiction, but this study says it could be very real.
01:08Are we ready when the ocean strikes back?
01:10Are we ready when the ocean strikes back?
Comments