Megatsunamis are not fiction, in fact they are scientific fact yet many people choose to add them to the "hypothetical" category of nature. They are not- in any way, shape or form, hypothetical- in fact they are very very real. People choose to ignore things like these because they are hard to process mentally. A two thousand foot mega wave? "Hell no.. that just doesn't happen here!" I beg to differ. Not only does it happen, but it has happened in our recent history- a mere 54 years ago to be exact. Right here, in my home- The United States of America. A 1,720 foot wave washed across American soil, did you hear about it? I bet not.
In the evening of July 9th 1958, Lituya Bay got a taste of what a megatsunami was and just how horrifying a wave that big could be. An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the ritcher scale, occurring on the fairweather fault (aha.. even science has a sense of humor) just 13 miles southeast of Lituya Bay caused a landslide that pushed approximately 30 million cubic meters of ice and rock to fall into a narrow section of the bay. The result was a monstrous wave, of epic proportions. Based on damages to trees and foliage in the area, the wave was accurately measured to have a height of 1,720 feet, or way too fucking high by normal people standards.
Not only did this monstrous wave happened, but there were survivors. Talk about being the apple of every surfers eye, these guys actually got to ride the wave! I have officially given them both the title of the world's first megatsumani riders- Meet Sonny and Harold Ulrich, the coolest boat surfers ever.
So just how big is a 1,720 foot wave?
Let's take a look.
Now onto the worst part, it may happen again.
1. Mount Breakenridge, British Columbia - unstable rock face may destroy Harrison Hot Springs
2. Cumbre Vieja Volcanic Ridge, La Palma Canary Islands - fissure on the eastern side of summit may cause the western half to collapse into the ocean devastating the Caribbean and the Eastern Seaboard of the USA.
3. Mauna Loa or Hilina Slump, Hawaii - Landslides after volcanic eruptions may destroy Honolulu.
4. Cape Verde Islands - Debris avalanches may cause megatsunami in unknown directions.
While scientists still argue that the collapse of Cumbre Vieja may happen in small pieces rather than one large chunk it is important to understand that scientic fact is only scientific fact until it happens and we see it. Megatsunamis have happened in the past but it wasn't until the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami that it was widely accepted as fact. The scientific bickering means nothing in the end. We just have wait until it happens.
Get your arks ready.
P.F.S. Links for the Curious
Lituya Bay Megatsunami Wiki
Megatsunami Wiki
Mega Tsunami: A Ticking Bomb Ready to Annihilate the U.S. Eastern Coast
Megatsunami Discovery Channel Documentary
Tidal wave threat 'over-hyped' <-Opposing Arguments
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