The next great earthquake isn't the only threat to the Pacific Northwest.
The next great earthquake isn't the only threat to the Pacific Northwest.
A powerful earthquake, combined with rising sea levels, could significantly increase flood risks in the Pacific Northwest, impacting thousands of residents and properties in northern California, Oregon, and Washington, according to new Virginia Tech research.
A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that a major earthquake could cause coastal land to sink up to 6.5 feet, expanding the federally designated 1 percent coastal floodplain, an area with a 1-in-100 chance of flooding each year, by 35 to 116 square miles.
“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 researcher Tina Dura, lead author of the study and assistant professor of geosciences in the College of Science.
Read more at Virginia Tech
Photo Credit: Pixabay
