Posted on 07/17/2016 12:02:52 PM PDT by SoFloFreeper
Although the risk is small, tsunamis are possible on the East Coast of the United States from a variety of sources, according to new research.
The most likely source for an East Coast tsunami would be an underwater avalanche along the continental slope.
An offshore earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or above could cause submarine avalanches and create dangerous tsunamis with waves higher than 26 feet. Underwater canyons and bays could focus these waves and make them even bigger.
There are plenty of areas along the continental slope — where the North American continent ends and drops into the Atlantic Ocean basin — at risk for these landslides.
Florida is at particular risk, as it is the “flattest” state in the US.
What? I’ve lived here all my life and never heard of a quake here!
And pythons, don’t forget the pythons.
I was a good 200 miles south of that 2011 VA quake sitting at my desk when it hit. I thought a Semi Truck was pounding down the road as I watched a framed picture vibrating against the wall.
Earthquakes east of the Mississippi River are felt far and wide, compared to West Coast earthquakes. The following occurred during the 1886 Charleston, SC quake:
• Maine: The captain of a schooner off the coast saw “black wall” rising on the water, a gigantic wave that lifted the ship to a fantastic height. The schooner was buried in a mountain of foam, its sails torn off and its mast snapped.
• North Carolina Mountains: Flames shot from caverns, leaving behind a cloud of smoke that smelled like burning coal. Massive rocks crashed down into the valley.
• Brooklyn, New York: A telephone operator thought he was having a heart attack when all the plugs on his switchboard popped out of their sockets.
• Terre Haute, Indiana: At a minstrel show the galleries swayed, and one man was thrown out of the balcony; he saved himself by clinging to a railing.
• Dubuque Iowa: The audience in the opera house stampeded, thinking the building was about to fall.
Whooda thunk?
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