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The US east coast does not suffer from earthquakes. A tsunami is a geological event, not a weather event.
by manfredo 6y ago
The US east coast does not suffer from earthquakes. A tsunami is a geological event, not a weather event.
- pfdietz 6y agoWhile earthquakes on the east coast are uncommon, they do occur. For example, Virginia experienced a magnitude 5.8 quake in 2011. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Virginia_earthquake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Virginia_earthquake The US east coast faces a tsunami risk from undersea avalanches on the edge of the continental shelf: https://www.livescience.com/24813-east-coast-tsunamis.html https://www.livescience.com/24813-east-coast-tsunamis.html "An offshore earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or above could cause submarine avalanches and create dangerous tsunamis with waves higher than 26 feet (8 meters), [...] Underwater canyons and bays could focus these waves and make them even bigger."
- manfredo 6y agoA submarine avalanche causes waves by a sudden displacement of earth under water. These occur regardless of earthquakes, and rarely result in significant waves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbidity_current https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbidity_current
- pfdietz 6y agoFrom the link I gave: "A 7.2-magnitude earthquake off the southern coast of Newfoundland in 1929 caused a large underwater landslide, creating a large wave that rushed ashore and killed 28 people on the island, ten Brink said. The waves were up to 26 feet high until some reached narrow inlets, where they grew to 43 feet (13 m), he said."
- manfredo 6y agoYes, caused by an earthquake 500 times more powerful than the magnitude 4.5 you had previously stated: > An offshore earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or above could cause submarine avalanches and create dangerous tsunamis with waves higher than 26 feet Turbidity currents occur on the regular without earthquakes and rarely result in substantial waves. They have been observed to happen due to earthquakes, but this is a rare event. The Grand Banks quake is the only known earthquake to have done this, and as you pointed out it was an earthquake with a much larger magnitude. In the grand scheme of things, turbidity events don't significantly impact the overall risk of tsunamis. The tsunami risk overwhelmingly comes from the earthquakes themselves, not the turbidity events they may trigger.