

NEW YORK:
US scientists have recognised that one of the biggest hazards on the planet lurks just off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, as can be told from the previous huge losses incurred by nature, sometimes becoming furious and uncontrollable, local media reported.
The scale of risk to the Pacific Northwest is hard to grasp: ground-shaking that lasts five minutes, more than 600,000 buildings toppled or damaged, 13,800 deaths and more than 100,000 injuries, according to a 2022 plan from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The economic losses from the earthquake alone have been estimated to reach $134 billion, reports Xinhua news agency, citing The Washington Post on Monday.
“The Cascadia Subduction Zone, where one plate of the Earth’s crust dives beneath another, stretches from Northern California to Canada’s Vancouver Island, getting stuck and building up stresses. Until the day they release,” noted the report. Scientists now believe there have been at least 19 major megathrust earthquakes triggered at the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the past 10,000 years.
Near the Pacific Northwest’s particularly fraught fault zone, the Juan de Fuca plate located just offshore dives beneath the North American continental plate at the rate fingernails grow, noted the report.
“A massive earthquake will one day rattle the region. Minutes to hours later, a surge of seawater will swallow the land. No one knows when,” it added.

more recommended stories
With Reciprocal Tariffs, Trump Aims for Place in HistoryNEW YORK:Beyond the trillions of dollars.
US Condemns China’s Military Drills near Taiwan as Threat to Regional StabilityWASHINGTON:The United States has strongly condemned.
Trump Pledges to Address ‘Decades of Unfair Trade’ with Reciprocal TariffsWASHINGTON:US president Donald Trump has vowed.
Amsterdam Stabbing: Five Injured in Attack on Busy Shopping StreetAMSTERDAM:A shocking stabbing incident in Amsterdam.
US Tariffs on Imported Cars to Weigh Heavily on S. Korean CarmakersSEOUL:US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement.
Multiple US Airstrikes Hit Yemen’s Houthi-held Capital SanaaSANAA:The US military conducted multiple airstrikes.
Promise Made, Promise Kept: White House Credits Trump for Safe Return of AstronautsWASHINGTON:The White House has said that.
Three Earthquakes Shake Indonesia, One Death Reported in North SumatraJAKARTHA:Three earthquakes struck Indonesia on Tuesday,.
Trump Says 80,000 Pages of Unredacted Files on JFK Assassination to be Released TodayWASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump said that.
UN Chief Urges India, Pakistan to Cooperate on Counter Terrorism EffortsUNITED NATIONS:UN Secretary-General António Guterres has.