US Mega-Quake Could Kill 150,000 Beachgoers
Up to seven million Americans living in West Coast cities including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland and Salem are living in mortal danger from an imminent and inevitable massive earthquake and tsunami, according to an alarming and apocalyptic report in the New Yorker published this week.
Revealing that the odds of the ‘Cascadia’earthquake happening in the next 50 years are now ‘roughly one in three’, the magazine also noted that the quake is already 83 years overdue from its usual 243 year cycle and painted a devastating picture of the destruction it will bring.
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries director Ian Madin noted in particular that up to 150,000 beachgoers in Oregon along could be killed if the quake, followed by an expected 20 to 30 metre high tsunami, strikes on a summer’s day.
“Most of them won’t have a clue as to how to evacuate,” he told the New Yorker, “And the beaches are the hardest place to evacuate from.” (New Yorker )
John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said the New Yorker over-emphasised the destruction levels the certain-to-happen soon quake will bring though otherwise said the article was ‘well-documented’.
He also advised residents to stock up on far more food and emergency supplies than current official minimum advice for 3 days’ worth of provisions.
“We recommend people prepare themselves for 7 to 10 days vs. three,” he told local news portal AJC.com.
“For a major quake, life won’t be back to “normal” after just three days. I’ve got enough at home to make it through a week, and also keep a stash of stuff in my car as well as at work,” he added.
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