TENSION is building up along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Experts fear a devastating magnitude nine earthquake could strike at any moments.
There are many life-threatening fault lines in the U.S. and one of those, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, stretches over 700 miles (1000 kilometers) from Northern Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino California.
And now, experts believe the fault could unleash a monstrous earthquake registering as magnitude nine. The question is not if but when.
And if you want a nightmare picture of the devastation this M9.0 could unlash, just look at what happened during the March 11, 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami and its 40-meter waves that killed almost 16,000 people.
In a new article from Express, UGGS geologists tell that always more tension is building along the Cascadia Subduction Zone… In such a mass that the chance of a mega earthquake is increasing everyday.
Last time the Cascadia fault zone ruptured was in 1700 and it is thought to generate a huge quake every 200 to 530 years. So we are overdue.
Just a matter of time
Robert de Groot of the USGS told Express.co.uk: “There will be landslides and ground failure. That zone is a region where there is compression going on between the Pacific plate and Juan de Fuca plate.
“Basically the idea is that those regions are being squeezed, squeezed, squeezed and when it reaches a certain point, it will bounce back and a lot of energy is going to be released.
“It will be like hitting a gong and a lot of vibrations are going to be sent out.”
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Big One will generate nine meter tall waves which could potentially kill 11,000 people in the state and injure a further 26,000.
So, prepare your earthquake plan and the next disaster ahead. [Express]
