When it comes to the possibility of a mega quake, California earthquake predictions usually take the cake. Not only is there the San Andreas fault line to worry about, but the Cascadia subduction zone has become the hottest topic in recent months. This was largely due to an article published by New Yorker, and now the writer is discussing the “terror reaction” to these scientific predictions and how tsunamis really could destroy much of the west coast.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, one FEMA official claimed that a mega earthquake triggered by the Cascadia subduction zone could “toast” the coast of America.
Calling the potential megaquake the “really big one,” writer Kathryn Schulz described how California, Oregon, and Washington State could be crippled. The worst part was the tsunamis which could potentially wipe out coastal areas, and many areas living in the danger zone are not prepared in the event of a tragedy.
Due to the hype surrounding the Cascadia subduction zone, companies like Survival Capsule have begun marketing their spherical survival capsule, which is intended to ride out both the earthquakes and tsunamis. According to KING 5, the earthquake survival capsule is both waterproof and fire-resistant, and could hold two or more people in the event of a mega earthquake that exceeds a magnitude 9.0.
Unfortunately, it is not only the initial earthquake that is the danger, but also surviving after all the bare necessities of modern day life are wiped out.
“OSSPAC estimates that in the I-5 corridor it will take between one and three months after the earthquake to restore electricity, a month to a year to restore drinking water and sewer service, six months to a year to restore major highways, and eighteen months to restore health-care facilities,” wrote Schulz.
In the aftermath of the article’s publishing, the writer admits that the response to the earthquake predictions has been “incredibly terrifying” at the worst.
“I’ll be honest with you – I did not expect the kind of terror reaction,” she said, according to KGW. “One of the most common comments I heard was, ‘Oh my gosh, this was terrifying. This was frightening. This was alarming. Thanks so much for scaring the holy heck out of all of us.’ I suppose I should have seen that coming.”
The reason she wrote about the megaquake was because she knew most Americans living near the Cascadia subduction zone were not even aware of the danger posed by the Cascadia fault line. In addition, she knew most emergency response plans did not even consider the possibility. It is believed Oregon students would have trouble evacuating from tsunami inundation zones, yet schools are not prepared.
“Obviously some of the most disturbing statistics and information from that story come from the tsunami inundation zone in the coastal region, where it really is stark,” Schulz said. “Either you get out of the inundation zone and you’re fine or you can’t get out and you really are not fine. From my perspective, doing something like moving schools out of the inundation zone — it’s chump change in the scheme of what we as a nation spend money on.”
As for the major earthquake predictions, she admits that “we have absolutely no idea” when or if a megaquake could destroy the west coast, but she still believes residents should take the risk seriously.
“This is a real problem and there are things they can do about it,” she said. “It’s a major fault line. It’s going to produce a very major earthquake. The response to that should not be blind panic or obliviousness…. I mean, everywhere you go in the world there is some risk level about something. You’re better off being prepared than sticking your head in the sand.” [Image via YouTube]