“Tsunami waves could be as high as 42 feet at the Big Wheel in Seattle and will reach inland at Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park,” the Washington State DNR said in a tweet Thursday. The survey was prepared by geologists at the DNR’s Washington Geological Survey Division, according to a news release.
Scientists have found that if a magnitude 7.5 earthquake were to occur on the Seattle Fault, tsunami waves over 40 feet high could reach the Seattle area in less than 3 minutes.
“Tsunami inundation and strong currents may continue for more than 3 hours from the onset of the earthquake,” according to the news release.
The study shows shoreline flooding and shoreline changes in the Seattle area after such a strong earthquake.
The last known earthquake on the Seattle Fault occurred about 1,100 years ago, the release said.
The study was “conducted to help local and state leaders and emergency planners develop and refine tsunami response and preparedness plans in the midst of Washington’s largest population center and economic center,” the release said.
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