1,000 foot mega-tsunami could wipe out large parts of America? These US states face maximum threat from monster wave

Scientists have warned of a potentially catastrophic mega-tsunami that could strike parts of the US Pacific Coast. A significant earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) could cause a potentially devastating mega-tsunami to hit portions of the US Pacific Coast, scientists have said.

Stretching nearly 600 miles from Northern California to Vancouver Island, the Cascadia Subduction Zone stores immense tectonic pressure as the Juan de Fuca Plate grinds beneath the North American Plate. According to Virginia Tech researchers led by geoscientist Tina Dura, there’s a 15% chance that this fault could unleash a catastrophic earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher within the next 50 years.

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Which US states are at risk?

Scientists have raised alarms 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, according to a report published in The UK Independent.

Coastal states like Washington, Oregon, and northern California can potentially be devastated, while Alaska and Hawaii could also be in danger. Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the mainland America’s West Coast are at risk if an earthquake erupts along the Cascadia subduction zone, the study said.

A monster quake powerful enough to wipe out cities like Seattle and Portland could also drag coastal land downward by up to 6.5 feet, researchers warn. In its wake, a mega-tsunami could tower nearly 1,000 feet high—threatening to put millions of Americans in unprecedented danger.

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What are mega tsunamis?

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.

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There also has not been a quake of large seismic magnitude along the Cascadia subduction zone since 1700.

A megatsunami is a colossal wave generated by a sudden, massive displacement of material into the ocean or a lake. Unlike regular tsunamis, which usually rise a few meters high, megatsunamis can tower hundreds of meters, making them far more destructive.

They are typically unleashed by catastrophic events such as giant landslides, collapsing glaciers, volcanic eruptions, or even meteorite impacts. Because of their immense size and force, megatsunamis can surge far deeper inland than ordinary tsunamis, devastating everything in their path.