You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Volcano could swamp US with mega-tsunami
2005-01-05
A wall of water up to 50 metres high crashing into the Atlantic seaboard of the United States, flattening everything in its path — not a Hollywood movie but a dire prophecy by some British and US academics. Scientists warn an eruption of a volcano in Spain's Canary Islands could unleash a "mega-tsunami" larger than any in recorded history. According to their controversial study, an explosion of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma could send a chunk of rock twice the size of the Isle of Wight into the Atlantic at up to 350 kilometres an hour. Many experts believe the risk of "mega-tsunamis" from such a massive landslide on La Palma has been hugely overstated. But in the study's scenario, energy released would equal the electricity consumption of the United States for six months, sending gigantic tidal waves across the Atlantic at the speed of a jet plane. Devastation in the United States would reach trillions of dollars with tens of millions of lives at risk. Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Brazil, the Caribbean and West Africa would also be swamped by giant waves.
Posted by:Fred

#48  AC - Lol! Shhhh! Don't confirm the wymyns' sterotypes - we'll never hear the end of it, lol!
Posted by: .com   2005-01-05 7:14:58 PM  

#47  .com, I just look at the pictures. For serious reading, I recommend the most respected name in mainstream media, the Weekly World News.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2005-01-05 7:11:06 PM  

#46  Fuck it! We've got both keys and are going independent, it's all over.
Posted by: Lt Frank and Mo   2005-01-05 5:31:18 PM  

#45  KC - and your post reminds me of a Playboy article (I know. Yes, I read the articles. Too.) about Albert Brooks titled, "He's funnier than you think." Um, no he's not.
Posted by: .com   2005-01-05 5:15:28 PM  

#44  Reminds me of that great 1995 film "Waterworld".
Now available on DVD. Please, see it again and you'll realize that it didn't nearly suck as much as you thought it did the first time you saw it.
Posted by: Kevin Costner   2005-01-05 5:10:53 PM  

#43  I used to be worried about Cumbre Vieja, but it seems the chances of it actually happening are pretty slim. AC's comment is also helping me to sleep better ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK)   2005-01-05 5:04:31 PM  

#42  I agree with Atomic Conspiracy, my own small scale simulations (in my pond) suggests the 20 mile inland breach; however I must indicate that two data variables were not assimilated; the Earth curvature effect, and the west to east rotational effect; both would introduce cascading amplification along the wave front. My analysis suggest this would be condusive to iceberg breaks in the northern latitudes but not enough for global warming or continental deluge. This all assumes a singular 'blowoff' and not a chain reactive trigger to a larger tectonic event. Question is, can the US government move the inhabitants of the first 20 mile kill zone westward in 4.5 hours warning time? My data indicates the US would have to phase a 100 mile
'clear corridor' preceeding the bottleneck along the western Interstate Highway System, for any chance of this to work!
Posted by: smn   2005-01-05 2:55:17 PM  

#41  Re: #39: too late. already a book out, but some techno-tom-clancy -wanny-be where the plot is this: the Hamas buys an undetectable Russian built nuke sub, goes to NK to buy clones of a Russian cruise missle (some are nukie-tipped of course), then off to the Chicoms for outfitting the boat with the missles, then off to the northwest to blow up Mt St Helens, around South America, to blow up Mount Monserratt (spelling?) all to demonstrate to the newly elected Democratic wimpy President that Hamas means business and get out of the Middle East and take Israel wit' cho. Or ELSE! We blow the Canary Islands up!! There then follows the predictable metropolitan area crisis as the freshly retired hero is recalled to fix things. He does and the nukie Missles get launched, but our daring Navy shoots them down and sinks the boat with most (not all, the head villian escapes for the next book, of course) of the bad guys aboard. A very predictable plot (but no gratuitious sex, too busy chasing bad guys, I guess.)and one that I am glad I didn't spend MY money on. But everybody lives happliy ever after, except the wimpy Demo-Pres; he got the boot in a coup and exiled to some place to live out his days counting chads, or something.
Posted by: USN, retired   2005-01-05 2:45:51 PM  

#40  Ahem. It is my learned opinion that the answer, as always I might add, is duct tape. Lots of duct tape.
Posted by: .com   2005-01-05 2:09:51 PM  

#39  Isn't that really the endgame? A movie, book tours, cover stories and a steady diet of hype articles and news stories for the MSM.

Telling the truth or aiding reponsible policymaking have nothing to do with it.
Posted by: lex   2005-01-05 1:28:07 PM  

#38  I smell a movie coming on.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2005-01-05 1:24:25 PM  

#37  As a geologist, I believe that this scenario is simplistic and fundamentally implausible.
The giant landslide could occur, but over a period of many hours as different sections of the dependent mass break away.
The notion of the whole mass breaking away at once and at a uniformly accelerating velocity, (the only way this could cause a gigantic tsunami) does not allow for the effects of diffential friction and varying tensile strength over small sub-masses as the larger mass begins to move.
There is a scaling effect here: rock is rigid, but large enough masses of it are not. By analogy, you cannot normally bend a heavy steel beam but it would be easy if the beam were 5 miles long.
In the case of Cumbre Vieja, the great mass freed by the failure of the fault would break up, parts of it would stop moving altogether, others would slow, and the process would stretch out over many hours. A large enough mass may remain rigid for a tsunami to result, but not the kind of gigantic event postulated here.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy   2005-01-05 1:19:40 PM  

#36  Curses! The Volcano Lair® is developing cracks! Damn shoddy workmanship...
Posted by: mojo   2005-01-05 12:34:08 PM  

#35  we're doomed! Doomed!
Posted by: 2b   2005-01-05 12:29:48 PM  

#34  
Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Brazil, the Caribbean and West Africa would also be swamped by giant waves.
And, except for Britain, they will immediately demand the U.S. don UN blue and save their asses while ignoring our own devastation.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-01-05 12:12:29 PM  

#33  LOL, TGA. You sure know how to keep things in perspective. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2005-01-05 12:07:06 PM  

#32  Funny you should mention food, 2b:

Experts dismiss fears of post-tsunami fish
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-01-05 11:30:34 AM  

#31  and don't eat anything either! The food you are eating is sure to give you a stroke any instant! And don't breath the air or cross the street.
Posted by: 2b   2005-01-05 11:00:01 AM  

#30  Don't forget the Sun's companion Dark Star that appears every umteen million years to disrupt everything. Oh, Yeah, I forgot... on a cyclic basis the solar system cuts through a denser region of the Milky Way. It might get dicey in a few zillion years when that happens again.

Then there is that GIANT BLACK HOLE at the center of the Milky Way. As it gobbles up solar systems it will increase our feelings of being alone.Just think We Would Be HOME ALONE! with no United Galaxy to help us when trouble happens.
Posted by: 3dc   2005-01-05 10:52:36 AM  

#29  Jeepers.

Does all this sh*t happen before or after we all get cancer from electromagnetic fields emanating from overhead power lines carrying electricity generated by the evil corporations that bankrupted California a couple years back which lead to the demise of Gray Davis which destroyed diversity and put evil Rethuglicans in power, hitting women and minorities hardest?
Posted by: Dave D.   2005-01-05 10:38:42 AM  

#28  SH&T! If only we'd listened! John Kerry had a plan
Posted by: Frank G   2005-01-05 10:34:37 AM  

#27  Don't forget the other inevitables. Overpopulation and second-hand smoke kill tens of millions. DDT kills Spring, forever. World runs out of food. Gulf War causes Nuclear Summer.
Posted by: lex   2005-01-05 10:27:07 AM  

#26  Did I miss anything?
Global warming of Greenland ice cap causing melt water to shut down Gulf Stream. Ice age returns, women and minorities suffer.
Posted by: Steve   2005-01-05 10:21:57 AM  

#25  I think I should have another beer now, just in case...
Posted by: True German Ally   2005-01-05 9:55:32 AM  

#24  Forgot a few things, like desertification: the Sahara is growing, and in another 200 years will encompass the entire globe. And don't forget the Ozone Hole, which will also expand until it occupies the whole sky; once that happens we'll all die from ultraviolet poisoning. And then there's Mega-Plagues, caused by antibiotic-resistant bugs that will attack our flesh...

Did I miss anything?
Posted by: Dave D.   2005-01-05 9:31:17 AM  

#23  I always figured that the Killer Asteroid of Doom would just hit Yellowstone directly and we'd get a two-fer. ;)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats   2005-01-05 9:21:54 AM  

#22  And don't forget Global Warming, which will shortly begin melting the Antarctic ice cap, raising sea levels worldwide by nearly 1,000 feet (that'll sure fix the Eastern seaboard, won't it?).

Mark Steyn, noting in 2002 that parts of the eastern and western coasts of the USA, all blue states, would be adversely affected by global warming, noted there just isn't any political downside for Dubya in global warming.
Posted by: badanov   2005-01-05 9:09:23 AM  

#21  LOML just HAD to work for the Gov't. I said: Let's settle down in Pocotello, Idaho. But noOOOoooo. :)
Posted by: eLarson   2005-01-05 9:03:26 AM  

#20  soo...I guess we can forget worrying about global warming...seeing as how it will all just be beach front anyway.
Posted by: 2b   2005-01-05 8:54:56 AM  

#19  "...because there is that gigantic Yellowstone volcano whose breakout is overdue..."

Darn. If it's not one thing, it's another. I wonder if Yellowstone will go BANG before, or after, the Giant Asteroid clobbers us. And don't forget Global Warming, which will shortly begin melting the Antarctic ice cap, raising sea levels worldwide by nearly 1,000 feet (that'll sure fix the Eastern seaboard, won't it?). And the sun will soon run out of hydrogen fuel and begin a rapid transformation into a burnt cinder...
Posted by: Dave D.   2005-01-05 8:54:08 AM  

#18  seems to be smn's MO
Posted by: Frank G   2005-01-05 8:41:14 AM  

#17  It appears that smn (#8) got a little panicy and left, probably seeking higher ground.
Posted by: Tom   2005-01-05 8:36:14 AM  

#16  This just in: UN requests every cent on the planet to fund study on levitating headquarters in response to imminent tsunami threat.
Posted by: tu3031   2005-01-05 8:20:06 AM  

#15  Forgot to mention,I got banned from Juliusblog(I feel so special,my first banning).Seems it is ok to call me an"ignorant,inbred,redneck f#$%k',but I'm not allowed to respond,and I didn't even curse.
Posted by: Raptor   2005-01-05 8:13:41 AM  

#14  It's my understanding that the Atlantic would be hit the worst,but this wave would be so massive it would sweep around the globe.On top of that it would revrberate(not sure if that is the term I should use)several times,causing a series of tidal waves.
Posted by: Raptor   2005-01-05 8:08:41 AM  

#13  SPoD - Inland won't help you because there is that gigantic Yellowstone volcano whose breakout is overdue...
In California the Big One is just around the corner..
Face it, you're doomed.
Posted by: True German Ally   2005-01-05 7:46:20 AM  

#12  Bulldog I wonder how many stone in a IoW?

I got a better solution move well inland and above sealevel if you are worried about it.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2005-01-05 6:44:21 AM  

#11  As I understand the situation while the chances are slight of La Palma collapsing it could as .com say happen. Even worse is the potential collapse of the island of Hawaii. Normally geology is a slowly operating thing. But sometimes things happen in a hurry. As far as the grant money goes If we dump 100K on somebody to set up a monitoring operation it would be cheap insurance
Posted by: Cheaderhead   2005-01-05 6:08:53 AM  

#10  Isn't there some way to generate electricity using ocean waves? Seem like this would be a fabulous opportunity to move America toward energy independence!
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-01-05 6:05:01 AM  

#9  "...a chunk of rock twice the size of the Isle of Wight..."

Wow! I didn't know the Isle of Wight had made it as an internationally recognised unit of measurement. Anyone know how many IoWs to a Belgium? I assume it's a clean 100.
Posted by: Bulldog   2005-01-05 4:19:17 AM  

#8  At worse,
the eastern seaboard would have to be cleared inland for twenty miles! feasible if the residents were given ample warning time like during a hurricane; but a sudden collapse in the middle of the night or bad weather over the westward interstates would make it disastrous! Power grids would mimic what happened with the Cleveland cascade failure!
Posted by: smn   2005-01-05 3:10:14 AM  

#7  ha-ha! This is no problem for those of us safely ensconced in the heart of Jesusland! Drown, youse lemmings!
Posted by: BH   2005-01-05 1:13:03 AM  

#6  Let's hope it is confined to the blue states.
Posted by: Captain America   2005-01-05 1:06:02 AM  

#5  I disagree, Sock. Berlin is way too near sea level. I think it should be moved to Grenoble. Or possibly Nepal.
Posted by: Seafarious   2005-01-05 12:30:09 AM  

#4  This is a story that is several years old. Just to be safe we will have to move the UN headquarters to some safe place like Berlin.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom   2005-01-05 12:26:59 AM  

#3  Lol - hey, as Judy Tenuda made famous, and in the same vein as her various routines, "It could happen." But hell, so could a gafreakinzillion other things - all as dire and all as impossible to predict or prevent. I smell grant money...

Life: live it or shuffle on.
Posted by: .com   2005-01-05 12:22:09 AM  

#2  To be on the safe side, should we start hitting up the world now for the aid package or wait for awhile?
Posted by: tu3031   2005-01-05 12:16:00 AM  

#1  East coast ya say ? Oh my.
Posted by: crazyhorse   2005-01-05 12:09:18 AM  

00:00