1,000-foot tsunami feared on US West Coast

Scientists are warning of a devastating natural disaster on the US West Coast. They believe that if a major earthquake occurs in the Cascadia subduction zone, a 1,000-foot-high mega-tsunami could be generated within a moment. This could cause severe damage to millions of people, infrastructure and the environment.

A team of researchers led by Virginia Tech researcher Tina Dura said that the Cascadia subduction zone is about 600 miles wide, from Northern California to Vancouver Island. Here, the Juan de Fuca plate is sliding under the North American plate, resulting in huge tectonic stress. The study says that there is about a 15 percent chance of an earthquake measuring 8.0 or higher here in the next 50 years. If such an earthquake occurs, the coastal area could suddenly sink up to 6.5 feet, resulting in a devastating tsunami.

According to the researchers' modeling, the tsunami waves generated by the earthquake could be hundreds of feet to 1,000 feet high. This would flood the cities of Seattle, Portland and Northern California within minutes. It is feared that a large number of people, roads, buildings and important infrastructure will be submerged. There is no precedent for such a disaster in history.

The researchers said that the last major earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone occurred in 1700. At that time, its effects still reached Japan. However, the level of damage could be even more terrible due to the dense population, urbanization and important communication systems today.

Researcher Tina Dura said that if a sudden landslide and an extremely high wave combine, the situation would be unprecedented in history. Therefore, local governments, policymakers and citizens must take action to address the risk now through a joint initiative. She emphasized the importance of warning systems, rapid evacuation plans and building robust infrastructure.

According to the research team, southern Washington, northern Oregon and northern California are most at risk. In addition, due to rising sea levels, there is a possibility of permanent flooding in these areas by 2100.

Scientists believe that if effective warning systems and disaster response infrastructure are not created now, the West Coast of the United States could be subject to the world's worst natural disasters in the future.