Scientists from Columbia University have conducted a study that has shown the high risks of earthquakes and tsunamis of great power in the United States.
Using underwater mapping techniques, scientists have mapped the Cascadia subduction zone - a thousand-kilometer fault line stretching from southern Canada to northern California - in unprecedented detail. It turned out that the fault is divided into four segments, and is not one continuous strip, like most fault lines. The discovery could be even more catastrophic - the reason for the risks is that the plates have a diverse structure of sediments and rocks, so there is a constant displacement of their fragments in different directions.
According to scientists, the earthquake will cause the largest tsunami in history, at least thirty meters high, which can cause irreparable damage to California, Washington and Oregon. For comparison, an earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3 is expected in California's San Andreas. If a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hits the West Coast of the United States, it could kill more than 10,000 people and cause more than $80 billion in damage in Oregon and Washington alone.
Scientists are now worried that a similar disaster could hit the U.S. in the coming years, reporting that Cascadia-driven earthquakes occur about every 500 years, with the last one occurring in 1700. The researchers hope their findings will help states in the impact zone prepare for worst-case emergency response and evacuation if the Cascadia subduction zone ruptures.