Scientists warn if a 1,000-ft ‘mega-tsunami' spurs from an active fault line it could wipe part of America off the map
Scientists are warning that a 1,000-foot-tall ' mega tsunami ' could potentially wipe a large chunk of America off the map – if a strong enough earthquake hits a specific active fault line over the next 50 years.
Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the mainland America's West Coast are at risk if an earthquake erupts along the Cascadia subduction zone, a fault stretching from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, California.
A recent study by Virginia Tech geoscientists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences estimates that there's a 15 percent chance of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hitting the region within the next 50 years.
That quake, which would potentially flush away cities like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, could also sink coastal land by as much as 6.5 feet, according to the findings.
In that instance, the mega tsunami's waves could reach up to 1,000 feet, putting millions of Americans at new risk.
While ordinary tsunamis produce waves standing a few feet tall, mega-tsunamis are characterized by extreme height, with waves often stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Unlike gradual climate-driven events, this potential earthquake would 'happen within minutes, leaving no time for adaptation or mitigation,' the scientists warned.
'The expansion of the coastal floodplain following a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake has not been previously quantified, and the impacts to land use could significantly increase the timeline to recovery,' said Tina Dura, lead author of the study and assistant professor in Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences.
The new research found the most severe effects would be in southern Washington, northern Oregon and northern California.
Alaska and Hawaii, though further from the fault line, are vulnerable because of their seismic and volcanic profiles.
There also has not been a quake of large seismic magnitude along the Cascadia subduction zone since 1700.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Odds of ‘city killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 striking Moon increase
A 'city killer' asteroid once thought to be on a potential collision course with the Earth has now been found to have a higher chance of striking the Moon. The building-sized space rock, designated 2024 YR4, sparked global concern when it was discovered late last year as initial projections suggested it had a 3 per cent chance of hitting the Earth on 22 December 2032. Subsequent observations reduced the threat of Earth impact to virtually zero but revealed that the rock had a small chance of crashing onto the Moon. After analysing additional data from Nasa 's James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have refined their predictions of the asteroid's orbit. The new data has improved our understanding of where the asteroid will be on 22 December 2032 'by nearly 20 per cent', Nasa said in a statement. Researchers said the 200ft asteroid's latest probability of impacting the Moon had increased to 4.3 per cent from the previous estimate of about 3.8 per cent. There is still an over 95 per cent chance it will miss the Moon, according to the recent estimates. Nasa has concluded that the object poses no significant impact risk to Earth in 2032 and beyond. In the event the space rock strikes the Moon, it would be one of the largest asteroids in recent history to hit the lunar surface. Researchers hope it may provide crucial data to prepare for future planetary defence operations. 'The possibility of getting a chance for an observation of a sizable Moon impact is indeed an interesting scenario from a scientific point of view," said Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency 's planetary defence office. Scientists hope tracking and understanding the asteroid could offer further insights into similar space rocks that might pose a threat to the Earth. A recent analysis of the asteroid suggests it may once have been a boulder that sat on the surface of a larger rubble-pile asteroid. Looking at how the rock absorbed sunlight and emitted heat, astronomers found that it was rich in silicates. This indicated it likely originated in the solar system's main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and was pushed into its current near-Earth orbit by gravitational interactions with Jupiter. Currently, the asteroid has passed too far away in its orbit to be observed with either space or ground-based telescopes. Nasa hopes to make further observations when the asteroid's orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of the Earth. 'After 2025 May, 2024 YR4 will next enter JWST observing window in the first part of 2026 as a challenging target, which may be worth pursuing to determine whether a lunar impact will occur,' researchers said in a recent study, published in the journal RNAAS.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
This Hayden Planetarium space show led to a cosmic discovery
"Encounters in the Milky Way" at the American Museum of Natural History explores the motion of our solar system through the galaxy, using scientific data and visualizations to explain how these cosmic movements have shaped—and continue to influence—our position in space. Gabe Singer has more.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
How having a sleepy teen could save your kid from a future heart attack
For parents with a sleepy teenager, less variable sleep patterns could be a sign of a healthier future for their child. Teens who had better sleep habits at age 15 were found to have improved heart health seven years later, researchers at the American Academy of Sleep Medicine said on Monday. The healthy sleep habits include falling asleep and waking up earlier, spending a lower percentage of time in bed awake, and having lower variability in total sleep time and sleep onset. Average total sleep time did not predict future cardiovascular health. In teens, cardiac incidents are rare, but they can occur. Approximately 2,000 young and seemingly healthy people under the age of 25 die each year of sudden cardiac arrest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attacks in people under 40 have been increasing over the past decade, the Cleveland Clinic notes. 'Given the importance of sleep health for physical health and well-being in the short-term, we were not surprised to see a lasting association between adolescent sleep timing, sleep maintenance efficiency, and sleep variability with cardiovascular health in young adulthood,' Dr. Gina Marie Mathew, a senior post-doctoral associate in public health at Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine, explained in a statement. 'It was unexpected, however, that with and without adjustment for potentially confounding factors, total sleep time during adolescence was not a significant predictor of cardiovascular health during young adulthood,' she added. 'This single null finding, of course, does not indicate that total sleep time is unimportant. Rather, when paired with other studies, these findings underscore the complexity of sleep health and the need to consider multiple sleep dimensions as potential targets for promoting and maintaining cardiovascular health.' Mathew was the lead data analyst and author of the National Institutes of Health-backed research that was presented on Sunday at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting. To reach these conclusions, the researchers analyzed data from Princeton and Columbia University's Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study: the longest-running and only contemporary U.S. birth cohort study of young adults based on a national sample. Their data included 307 adults, the majority of whom were girls. At age 15, participants wore a device on their wrist for a week to measure sleep variables. At age 22, their cardiovascular health was assessed using their diet, physical activity, exposure to nicotine, body mass index, and measurements of fats in the blood, blood sugar, and blood pressure. They were scored based on these factors using the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8. Teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years old should sleep eight to 10 hours regularly to promote optimal health, the academy said. Getting the recommended number of hours is associated with improved attention, behavior, memory, mental and physical health, and other positive outcomes. However, Mathew pointed out that the results highlight the need for a more comprehensive approach to address the relationship between adolescent sleep health and cardiovascular health. 'Future research and recommendations should emphasize the importance of multiple dimensions of sleep health, including earlier sleep timing, higher sleep maintenance efficiency, and lower sleep variability as protective factors for long-term heart health,' she said.
