As California continues to battle the Los Angeles wildfires, experts say I'm warning you The Pacific Northwest is at risk of major earthquakes that can cause tsunamis. Cascadia subduction zone, fault line that's correct It is thought to be located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which borders the Pacific Ocean. epicenter of earthquake.
“It will stretch over 1,300 miles from Canada to California,” said Chris Goldfinger, a leading paleoseismologist at Oregon State University. CBN News.
He noted that the fault line was largely unknown to the public and that construction across the Pacific Northwest had occurred without any action. Considering a huge earthquake.
“The entire Pacific Northwest is extremely vulnerable. Essentially, our cities are turn-of-the-century cities built on ticking time bombs,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Fema regional planners warned of deadly consequences if a magnitude 9.0 or higher earthquake from the Cascadia fault line were to strike Seattle.
“When a skyscraper starts shaking…that's right.” a lot Some of them are designed with windows that pop out,” said Matt Caesar at the region's FEMA headquarters in Bothell, Washington.
“There's going to be three feet of broken glass on the streets under the buildings in downtown Seattle. Three feet of glass,” he added. I can't even see three feet of snow. ”
Caesar, who usually works in disaster planning, said: it is One fact about the broken glass surprised him.
“That glass thing. Really It stuck with me. Considering all the glass panes fell down.” he Said. “Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to lose their lives.”
Additional effects of such a large earthquake include the collapse of hillside homes, flooding, fires, and infrastructure collapse. similarly Tsunami waves can be 20 to 100 feet high and can destroy coastal structures.
Goldfinger, interviewed by CBN News in the middle of Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon, a few hundred meters from the Pacific Ocean, said debris from the huge waves would cause further destruction.
“All of a sudden, the bay is full of fishing boats, refrigerators, cars, everything,” Goldfinger explained. “And it’s like glacial debris. seeds Swings back and forth. ”
Planning manager Kevin Couples said schools in the area are right in the tsunami zone and he was pleased residents had recently voted to provide funding to move the schools to higher ground.
“So now they fundamentally We will be on stable ground outside the flood zone,” Couples told CBN News.
Historically speaking, it has been 318 years since the last Cascadia earthquake. hit, and it Such earthquakes occur on average every 243 to approximately 500 years. southern oregon is the area of Seattle and northern Washington are next more likely to be hit, but least likely.
“One day it will happen. It could be 15 minutes from now., or it's possible It’s years away,” explained Couples of Seaside.
“we could literally Take it now,” Goldfinger added. “And we looked around and said: 'UnderstoodI think this is it.”
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First publication date is January 14, 2025.
