Is Seattle in a tsunami zone?

Tsunamis generated in the Pacific Ocean off Washington’s coast will not have as great of an effect in Seattle as they will on the Pacific Coast, but low-lying areas may experience flooding, and strong currents will likely be present in Puget Sound for hours after the earthquake.

Where is the Seattle fault?

The Seattle fault zone is a 4- to 7-km-wide east-trending fault zone that extends from the Cascade Range foothills on the east across the Puget Lowland to Hood Canal, crossing Lake Sammamish, Lake Washington, Puget Sound, Bainbridge Island, and the Kitsap Peninsula.

Can tsunamis wipe out Seattle?

People could try driving out, but officials expect roads to be buckled and sunken, or covered in power lines, trees and debris. The expected subduction would cause the entire area to abruptly sink up to 7 feet; the shaking could cause liquefaction of sandy soils before the tsunami reached shore.

How far inland did the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami go?

In many places, the waves reached as far as 2 km (1.2 mi) inland. Because the 1,600 km (1,000 mi) fault affected by the earthquake was in a nearly north–south orientation, the greatest strength of the tsunami waves was in an east–west direction.

Is Seattle at risk for an earthquake?

The estimated frequency of a Seattle Fault earthquake is difficult to determine due to lack of data. Estimated recurrence intervals range from every 200-15,000 years. An earthquake on the Seattle Fault poses the greatest risk to Seattle because: The Seattle Fault Zone extends east-west through the middle of the city.

How will the big one affect Seattle?

The simulator shows what would happen if a 9.0 earthquake hit the Cascadia subduction zone – also known as “the big one.” The study estimates that the earthquake would generate a tsunami capable of submerging coastal areas as well as most of the shoreline in Puget Sound with several feet of seawater.

Is Seattle in an earthquake zone?

An earthquake on the Seattle Fault poses the greatest risk to Seattle because: The Seattle Fault Zone extends east-west through the middle of the city. A Seattle Fault quake could be as large as M7.

Does Seattle sit on a fault line?

The Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east–west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90.

When was the last tsunami in Seattle?

The most recent was in 1949 when the Tacoma Narrows experienced a landslide that triggered 6 to 8 foot tsunami following that year’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake. The 900 AD Seattle Fault earthquake triggered massive landslides into Lake Washington, but no evidence has been found yet that they caused tsunamis.

How high were the waves in the 2004 tsunami?

Fast facts: 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami In Banda Aceh, the landmass closest to the quake’s epicenter, tsunami waves topped 100 feet. The tsunami’s waves traveled across the Indian Ocean at 500 mph, the speed of a jet plane.

Where did the Indian Ocean tsunami hit?

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 lasted for seven hours and reached out across the Indian Ocean, devastating coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand, and as far away as East Africa.

Is Seattle on a fault line?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xx49WUWAl4