Giant Tidal Waves Could Wipe Out New York & The UK

[Ed Wood Caulfield]

I found this on the BBC news website. It was originally posted on August 28, 2001. It's certainly interesting, and a little scary that something like this is possible. Although there is only a 5% possibilty that it would happen this decade or even the next decade, so that's comforting. The last time the volcano erupted was in 1971, and it only happens once or twice a century.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1513342.stm

 

Giant wave devastation feared

 

By BBC News Online's environment correspondent Alex Kirby

 

An immense wave could one day wreak havoc on the eastern seaboard of the US and elsewhere around the Atlantic.

 

"It's entirely possible you'd see 50-metre waves coming ashore in Florida, New York, Boston, all the way up to Greenland, and in some cases reaching up to 10 km inland"-Dr Simon Day 

 

Scientists say a volcanic eruption on the Canary Islands, off West Africa, could trigger a vast undersea landslide.

 

"This would set off a tsunami wave capable of inundating coastal regions thousands of kilometres away."

 

But the disaster is unlikely to strike this century.

 

The warning comes from Dr Steven Ward, of the University of California, US, and Dr Simon Day, of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at University College London, UK.

 

Writing in Geophysical Research Letters, they refine an earlier estimate of the likely consequences of the collapse of the western flank of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canaries.

 

Record heights

They believe a build-up of groundwater could destabilise a block of rock up to 500 cubic km in size, which could break off in a future eruption, rushing into the sea at up to 350 km an hour (220 mph).

 

The energy released by the collapse would equal the entire US electricity consumption for six months.

 

The dome of water it caused would be 900 metres (2,950 feet) high, and the resulting tsunami, higher than any in recorded history, would travel outwards, reaching speeds of 800 km an hour (500 mph).

 

Waves 100 m (330 ft) from crest to trough would strike the African coast, while north-eastwards they would affect Spain, Portugal and France, and could still be approaching 12 m (40 ft) when they hit the UK.

 

That is almost three times the maximum recorded after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755.

 

Dr Day said the waves striking the UK coast would not penetrate more than two or three kilometres inland.

 

But he told BBC News Online: "Weird things happen when tsunamis enter harbours or estuaries. If those resonate at a certain frequency, that may substantially increase the damage."

 

Across the Atlantic the damage would be far worse, with wave heights of more than 40 m (130 ft) expected in northern Brazil.

 

Dr Day said: "It's entirely possible you'd see 50-m waves coming ashore in Florida, New York, Boston, all the way up to Greenland, and in some cases reaching up to 10 km inland. And that would be about nine hours or more after the initial collapse."

 

Dr Simon Day: This may not happen for many centuries

The ensuing economic losses would probably be in trillions of dollars, even if there were enough warning to evacuate threatened areas and avoid massive loss of human life.

 

If the speed of the landslide proved to be 150 metres per second (490 feet per second), not the 100 m/s (330 ft/s) assumed, that could double the height of the waves reaching the US.

 

But Dr Day had some reassurance on the probable timescale of the catastrophe.

 

He said a collapse was unlikely this century, and perhaps for many centuries.

 

It could take several eruptions to destabilise the volcano enough to dislodge the western flank, and collapse would occur only after days or weeks of seismic activity.

 

He told BBC News Online: "We think you have to see some evidence of subterranean movement before there's a risk of collapse. The fact that we aren't seeing any movement gives us a lot of confidence Cumbre Vieja won't collapse spontaneously. But we've found that eruptions do tend to come in clusters. And there've been two in the recent past."

 

And here's a map of how the tidal wave would travel:

[Mik]

you can see it in theaters in a few months. It's called Day After Tomorrow.

[Sandman9000]

Go away SKBF.

[MrRant]

Well no shit. This has been known for how many years?

[Art Sandusky]

Eh, it'd give me enough time to drive well inland, so hurrah for tidal waves?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Indiana's going to be prime beachfront property someday.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

Go away SKBF.

Words.Outta.MOuth.

[KingPK]

Will the Food Man and the $10 computers be ok?

 

*Wonders if anyone will get that*

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

I can pretend to get it.

[MrRant]

Will the Food Man and the $10 computers be ok?

 

*Wonders if anyone will get that*

The bigger question will be.... after the flood... what will we need to burn a cd?

[Bruiser Chong]

Will the Food Man and the $10 computers be ok?

 

*Wonders if anyone will get that*

God damn you, I was going to bring up the well-being of the $10 computers. Oh well, I guess it wasn't as clever as I thought it was.

[KingPK]

Just in case you don't know/couldn't remember what we're talking about (and I was debating wether or not to do this), read these threads:

 

Is There Anyway To Create Audio CD's..., Without Needing a CD Burner

 

The U.S. Empire Is Falling!, Ain't It Sweet?

[Bruiser Chong]

I don't think the poor guy's ever going to live those two threads down. It's what he'll always be associated with, regardless of what he does. Kinda like Bret Hart and Montreal.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

PLease. The best SKBF thread is from when TMO tricked him into thinking he was the poster of the week.

 

It was beautiful.

[KingPK]

Linky linky please?

[The Czech Republic]

You know I'm thinking "Ooh, 14 replies, there's still enough time to sneak in references to the Food Man or the $10 computer!" But I was wrong. Dead wrong. I've gotta be quicker and post more during school hours.

[Slayer]

Just in case you don't know/couldn't remember what we're talking about (and I was debating wether or not to do this), read these threads:

 

Is There Anyway To Create Audio CD's..., Without Needing a CD Burner

 

The U.S. Empire Is Falling!, Ain't It Sweet?

DETFJ

 

 

 

 

Anyway, these kind of theories make me glad I live in the dead center of the US.

 

Now if we could do something about them tornados...

[NoCalMike]

with continental drift taking place since the dawn of time, wouldn't that also eventually mean the world will once again be one big land mass with a few islands that went around the big mass?

[KingPK]

Well suffice to say, the Atlantic is going to become one big-ass ocean in a few million years while the Pacific continues to shrink.

 

And you can say goodbye to that Mediterranean beachfront property in about 60 million years, since there won't BE a Mediterranean Sea.

[Slayer]

with continental drift taking place since the dawn of time, wouldn't that also eventually mean the world will once again be one big land mass with a few islands that went around the big mass?

Not in your lifetime