Cascadia: The Earthquake that will Destroy Westcoast America

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Morris M.
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
Business inquiries to [e-mail]
Source/Further reading:
In-depth feature from the New Yorker: www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
Detailed piece from Scientific American: www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
The mythology of the 1700 quake: blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
More on the mythology - excellent examples: slate.com/technology/2015/09/...
Could Cascadia trigger the San Andreas fault? www.nwpb.org/2019/12/03/the-b...
The science-y bit: earthquake.usgs.gov/data/crus...
Cascadia on a map: www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploa...

[@suzannemarker9896]

My step mother’s father was a geologist who was a member of one of the teams that put together the risk analysis for a potential Cascadia subduction zone quake. The historical record uncovered and the implications for present day danger were so alarming that he not only left the Pacific Northwest, he moved to Europe and never came back.

[@razorransom1795]

Well, sad to say with what I've seen and researched, technically no where is always 100% safe with the deformed cratons interconnected faults. Hope it wasn't Britain or Ireland, probably never heard of the marian visions that talk about that and other major geo events. For st Patrick's promise, Ireland is gonna sink never to rise again, Britain goes under and comes back up. Note its geologically, its sandwiched between two can be bad faults, and yes the ancient Somerset beach one that goes through Mann's is back online now.

[@fprice212]

Please don't day that, i live in Washington state 😪

[@danielstr8101]

id say its a 100% chance before 2030 if not 2027. from my reading. your step mom was smart

[@pamelafernandezdelareguera4893]

I live in Chile. I'm old enough to have lived through 2 major ones and an infinite number of smaller ones. (Though I wasn't born for the big 1960 one). Our major ones have a tendency to shift the earth's axis .... it happened in 2010 when we had a rather big 8.8 one.

[@kasuraga]

i live in arizona. as long as you can survive the summer heat this place is nice and calm. we dont really have major life ending events like earth quakes, hurricanes, or tornados luckily. (we do get earthquakes and tornadoes but so small and so remote they dont cause much problem besides being exciting to hear about)

[@DisOcean8]

I love how Simon covered this with the enthusiasm of someone who clearly doesn't live in the Pacific Northwest

[@MiscMitz]

Right. Lol. And he didn't even mention what it'd do to all of our volcanoes here. Mt Rainier is in my backyard...

[@observerlang]

Lol

[@Pipsqwak]

@@MiscMitz Yep. Every day (when it’s not cloudy, foggy, or raining) I wake up and see Tahoma, all 14,410 feet of it, looming over everything in Puget Sound. Lahars (volcanic mudslides) from the mountain have reached the Sound more than once, wiping out everything in their path. I can imagine that megaquake shaking would be enough to knock loose some huge chunks of those massive glaciers and lots of weak volcanic rock and clay and send it hurtling down the river valleys as it has many times before.

[@truthwins3065]

Not liking this guy, he shows no concern for human life. He’s just as bad is the robots who answered business phones when you’re trying to get through to a human being.

[@truthwins3065]

Misc Mitz You can count on that, thanks for the warning!😉

[@kakisse79]

My dad is Alaskan and survived the 1964 quake, but lost several friends. He moved to Europe when he was 20 and this was partially motivated by that earthquake he and his family barely survived.

[@hpinchen9451]

Where in Europe? Italy has one of the largest super volcanoes in the world In the Naples Basin. Campo Flagrani… It could erupt any moment

[@Nutmeg-]

@@hpinchen9451 I read something about the risk of it's next erruption being a super one is rather low. Yes, it will cause destruction but it won't wipe Italy off the map. Still happy to not live in Naples. They don't have a plan how they'd evacuate the city in case of even a minor eruption and it has around 3 million citizen living in Naples.

[@Arcticun]

@@hpinchen9451 The Phlegraean Fields aren't a super volcano and it's extremely unlikely that it will have any form of widespread devastating. It can potentially have a new caldera-forming eruption, specifically around the Pozzuoli port but even that can potentially be thousands of years away.

[@hpinchen9451]

@@Arcticun but they are part of the Caldera that encompasses the Bay of Naples and beyond are they not?

[@hpinchen9451]

Latest research I’ve seen indicates the magma chambers are extremely volatile which could trigger a super volcanic event ….

[@rickfox4068]

One thing everyone forgets in the scenario, is Mt. Rainier. At the very minimum, you will have avalanches coming at you at frightening speeds. If you have deep shaking, it could affect the volcano itself.

[@zachs8765]

and mt adams, mt hood etc

[@BamBamSr]

Orting 😳

[@DieFlabbergast]

Mt. Rainier: "Hi there! Remember me?"

[@jasondrummond9451]

@@zachs8765 And Mount Baker - looming above the 2.6 million people of Vancouver.

[@MishaSims]

exactly. i live in portland, oregon that has two active volcanos, mt. tabor and mt. hood. i'm worried about the volcanos not the earthquakes

[@mosesmarlboro5401]

As someone who digs subway tunnels in Los Angeles for a living, this is concerning to say the least.

[@pickles9440]

MosesMarlboro are they really doing that?

[@MrMarkar1959]

wonder if anybody prospector's are panning out the diggings?

[@boastyy]

Take a dog to work with you mate.

[@suzettebavier4412]

I should Think SO‼️ Scarey‼️‼️‼️

[@zaftred8777]

Imagine hearing "Fool! You've doomed us all!"

[@cmd31220]

Not gonna lie, I was fully expecting this to be 2020's final boss

[@DylanMcMullen]

Would've been too much of a blessing

[@lschnitzer7770]

The problem is that it's growing stronger the longer it's stuck

[@DylanMcMullen]

@@lschnitzer7770 good

[@sacheencollecutt5583]

2021 said to 2020: "Hold my beer"...

[@paulwheeler567]

Nope that'd be the kid sniffer in D.C

[@Stkrrook123]

I attended a training session about disaster preparedness held near Everett, WA about 20 years ago. One of the local USGS geologists was a presenter. He said we need to have our emergency preps stored well away from buildings and buried (with lid access) to protect them from earthquake damage so we could actually retrieve them when we need them. He said we will need them and our buildings/homes aren't likely to be standing to get our preps from inside. He said our go bags needed to be kept next to the door we will be exiting through. Very chilling to listen to how he, personally, was preparing for such a recently discovered threat. I have been prepping since Mt. St. Helen's blew, myself, so the concept of prepping wasn't new to me. It pretty much was to everyone else there. I live about 15 miles EAST of I-5 and avoid WEST of it like the plague.

[@mamasmae8021]

I currently live in this Cascadia zone. It’s scary how many people don’t take this possibility seriously. I plan to move inland soon and can’t wait as this has been a huge source of anxiety and nightmares for me.

[@itsnotthesamething]

I have a couple relatives in Seattle. They don't seem to be interested at all in what could happen. I live in big tornado country(North Alabama). But tornados can be forecast, and I can go to a shelter(we have amazing public shelters here, that can withstand an F5). You never know when an earthquake will hit, and if you survive the earthquake, how long do you have before the tsunami? I'd move away as fast as I could.

[@willbetts]

Come to Boise!

[@seanbarnes1151]

​@@willbettsmaybe Boise will come to you instead!

[@wiseauserious8750]

Salem welcomes you

[@triobros98]

​@seanbarnes1151 why are you Palestinian

[@dianebrewster3219]

I lived in Anchorage when was 7 years old and the 1964 Good Friday earthquake hit. Although there were no earthquake meters at the time, I've seen estimates of it being anywhere between a 9.2 t0 9.5 earthquake. It was terrifying. To this day, I (and anyone else I've met who lived through it) cannot speak of it without crying. I was in Seattle during the 6.8 Nisqually earthquake in 2001. It was nothing compared to the Good Friday earthquake. At 6.8, the Nisqually earthquake made the ground feel like a gentle rolling wave with the sound of thunder coming from underground. It lasted for less than one minute. The Good Friday earthquake made the ground shift violently back and forth with so much force that everyone standing outside fell to the ground, only to stand back up and then be hurled to the ground in another few seconds. It lasted for 4.5 minutes, but felt like it went on forever. My brother said he was watching the trees, sway so much that the tops of the trees would touch the ground, stand back upright, and then sway in the opposite direction and touch the ground again; over and over. I don't remember sounds besides people screaming and houses sounding like they were pulling apart. As a young girl scout, I remember our troop was on a guided walk in a State forest. The forester pointed out that the trail we were walking was directly over the fault of the Good Friday earthquake. She pointed out a tree that had grown directly over the fault line. The tree, still upright, had been ripped in half with one half located about 15 ft. from the other half. To this day, the memory of that sight is still mind-bending. I recognize the photo of downtown Anchorage shown in the video. My father went into town a few days after the quake and took a movie of Anchorage's streets. We watched those films regularly. My dad was an air force pilot and flew over Valdez on a reconnaissance mission. From the air, he took a movie of the port, the wrecked docks, the large ships sitting atop crushed homes, and washed out roads. We watched that movie regularly, too. As an adult in Seattle, I discovered that my neighbor had lived in a community near Valdez that was not as affected by the tsunami. All of her friends in Valdez perished. Many years later, my mother told us that my father always slept with his boots on for the next year or so after the earthquake. Now living in the Seattle area, I have always made my housing choices based on staying out of tsunami range and knowing the geology of the area I live in (to minimize impacts from earth movement). I do enjoy going out to the coast now and then but must admit a certain nervousness until I get back to safer ground.

[@mehere8038]

fascinating, thanks for sharing

[@psynurse]

Wow! Thanks for sharing!

[@CaterpolarisII]

Holy shit. I cannot believe how terrifying it would've been to live right through that, thank you for sharing! And I hope you're alright nowadays!

[@ro4eva]

"My brother said he was watching the trees, sway so much that the tops of the trees would touch the ground, stand back upright, and then sway in the opposite direction and touch the ground again; over and over." --- Trying to visualize this in my mind was far creepier than I would have expected.

[@uncletiggermclaren7592]

My dad was in a harbour down in North Island, New Zealand, standing next to his dinghy which was pulled up on the sand at the low water mark ( which was about 100 Mtrs from high water, in that narrow shallow bay ), cutting up some fish he had caught. And the tsunami from that quake got to him. With no noise, the water just rose up, with a walking speed remorselessness about it. He grabbed onto the side of the boat, and was lifted off his feet and climbed aboard, turned round and looked and the ocean was forcing into the harbour. Out by the harbour mouth it was already at high water mark ( which meant that the water level had risen 3 mtrs or so, about 10 feet ) , and further in the harbour was a noticeable bulge which was the water building up as it forced into the narrow part of the harbour. He was raced faster and faster up the harbour, and was lifted above the mangroves and then the water went back out, leaving his dinghy sitting in a cow pasture that is about 9 feet above high water mark. It wasn't a significant tsunami in most other places in NZ, that harbour often has heavy effects because of how the Island it is on relates to the structure of the large body of water between it and the mainland. Water presses down between Great Barrier Island and the Mainland, and forces up the narrow harbours on the West side of the Island.

[@MrDlt123]

One element of my job is to ensure corporate data survivability by backing up data at redundant, geographically seperated data centers. While inspecting one San Francisco firm, we discovered they had no redundant data backup. When I enquired, the VP rolled his eyes at me and said " Ive heard [earthquake] predictions all my life, but other than a small tremor here and there, there hasnt been ANYTHING to worry about!" This is the problem. People have no frame of reference. They think it wont happen because it hasnt yet happened to THEM.

[@darklord220]

We never learn.

[@bthemedia]

Use multiple cloud regions for storing backups.

[@garybulwinkle82]

In California the San Andreas releases frequently, Cascadia not very much. This has lead California to build accordingly. Up north they haven't been building to withstand earthquakes, so the damage will be catastrophic!!

[@murraystewartj]

"I've never had a house fire so why should I bother with smoke detectors?" It's like the folks who move back to an area after a "100 year flood" thinking that they're safe for another century, as another 100 year flood is a long way off. Predictions, whether of the likelihood a major Cascadia quake or flood events are based on historical data. They paint in broad strokes a rough timeframe in which we can expect a major disaster and, if we're smart, plan to mitigate the results. With climate and ocean currents showing rapid change, I think a lot of weather algorythms are going to have a hard time keeping up, as the historical data of centuries may have lost its predictive value. But it's our nature as human beings to become complacent, either through never experiencing a natural disaster or, perversely, having survived one and operating under the assumption of random immunity from another.

[@lyndaphillips5006]

APAN and CHILI' WHEN CAN THIS GUY "EXPLAIN" HIS EXPERT FINDINGS OF CASCADIA AND CALIFORNIA ? WRONG TITLE TOTALLY !

[@robert-zj7ef]

1982, my ship pulled into a harbor on Talcauno, Chile. The harbor bottom was about 50 feet deep. NOW, THERE IS NO HARBOR AND THAT AREA IS NOW NEAR SEA LEVEL.

[@valrie1650]

My dad was in college in Oregon when the new cascadia research was being done in the 80s. When it was my turn to go to college in Vancouver BC, moving into those new glass high-rise apartments he said, “You really don’t want to be living here during an earthquake. The whole PNW is almost 100 years overdue for a Big One.” He meant like a 1964 earthquake where we grew up, and personally got a taste of in 2018.

[@danrazzaia3152]

Seattleite here. You missed two things: 1) We DO get earthquakes on a somewhat regular basis that can wake us up or shatter the odd window. 2) A 9.2 will have enough force to loosen the glaciers on Mt Rainier, if not awaken it or one of its brethren. Don't worry, it's worse than you think.

[@uzidoesit357]

Dude, we get one off haida gwaii almost monthly

[@Trygon]

The volcanoes here are plenty worrying, but that north american plate that's doing all the compressing also includes yellowstone. Who knows what suddenly gaining an inch or two of breathing room will do out there?

[@scotte4765]

@@Trygon Those are very different places with very different processes going on. To my knowledge, the magma deep under the Yellowstone region is not being held there by geologic tension which a west coast earthquake, however large, could snap open.

[@Carewolf]

Which is why you should make sure your windows aren't odd.

[@lisarmia]

Your earthquakes near Seattle are probably caused by the Seattle fault, and not the Cascadian Mega Thrust.

[@senor.molina]

Chilean here, I just wanted to say that we are lucky to have earthquakes so often (like with 15~20 years of difference), because that way we are forced to have better quality of buildings and houses, most of old houses in Chile can't survive the quakes, so the ones that are standing right now have been proved by the circumstances.

[@--enyo--]

Similar to Japan, I guess.

[@cerwile1]

Also, if you have smaller earthquakes often, it releases the pressure when its managable instead of giving you a single massive quake every couple thousand years.

[@Markle2k]

@@cerwile1 Chile has the largest recorded quake in history and the 6th in Bio-Bio. 9.5 and 8.8 Mo. 1960 and 2010, respectively.

[@cerwile1]

@@Markle2k True, but imagine if the fault in chile was like the one in the video, where the pressure just builds up quietly for ages until it all goes off at once.

[@AirShark95]

Hell even some of the old houses in Chile are built like bunkers. Many have survived over 7 large earthquakes (7.0+) by now and are still standing. And the earthquake culture in Chile is very unique. People there know how to respond to disasters. All Chileans have a built-in seismometer at this point, and they'll only take cover when they feel the quake is anything over a magnitude 7.5. And all Chileans now instinctively know to evacuate the coast and head for the hills after every major quake. This is why Chile is one of the only countries in the world that can brush off magnitude 7.5 - 8.5 quakes like it is nothing. If the quakes Chile gets hit anywhere else on Earth, then they would cripple that nation and the economy.

[@mikekoch4151]

I live in eastern WA, and when traveling near the coast, I have seen stands of dead trees in certain areas. The trees in these "ghost forests" were analyzed in the 80s and 90s, and they drowned circa 1700, victims of the tsunami. There is a video on youtube made by Central Washington University about these tsunamis, and on the video it says that these tsunamis occur about every 500 years on average.

[@blackwater77]

Those trees weren’t killed by a tsunami so much as salt water on their roots and the land dropped about six feet after the quake - it was bowed up when the two plates were still jammed. I’m not so concerned about tsunamis on the inside as the San Juan and Gulf Island would filter any sudden surge. A lot depends on where the tide is, as that varies twelve feet or so here. That said, big waves could happen anywhere where there’s a chance of a landslide going into a body of water causing a displacement wave. Displacement waves can be ginormous.

[@germfreepizzawi1839]

Has anyone else been binge watching these videos? I’ve been stuck watching/listening to them every day for hours on end, mainly listening to them at work. So addicting.

[@LeoDomitrix]

I am quarantined with bacterial pneumonia. These are keeping me from going nuts with boredom!

[@someblokecalleddave1]

@@LeoDomitrix Feeling any better? Hope you get well soon.

[@jeffdunnell6693]

I remember geology was taught in grade schools

[@rascal0175]

In the early 80s I stayed with someone who had a ranch that the San Andreas fault ran through. Some people showed up from (as I recall) a university. They placed measuring devices into the fault line, then quit for lunch. When they returned they tried to remove one of the devices and they could not get it out of the ground. In about 90 minutes the plate had moved enough to trap some of their equipment. I saw that with my own eyes. They were pretty stimulated about the amount of movement in that short time. The ranch owner is dead and now I’m old, but I sure remember that. It took place in December 1981.

[@ajl2232]

Wow. That's an interesting story and info. This thing is inevitable. Thank you for sharing

[@Dhobby517]

How interesting. Was that ranch in Parkfield, CA by chance? Great burgers at the Parkfield cafe!

[@rascal0175]

@@Dhobby517 I don’t recall. That was December 1981. I do recall that we were close to Ronald Reagan’s ranch. A look at a map may refresh my memory.

[@rascal0175]

@@Dhobby517 Oxnard.

[@HappyQuailsLC]

Yes, these plates involve lots of slow slippage.

[@flowersnaught9380]

Me living on the san Andrea's fault line poking at it with a stick

[@vulthuryol8051]

"C'mon, do your thing"

[@solomongrundy1618]

*TF2 CRIT NOISE*

[@richardhead1848]

This is where you hear that stupid "shot on iphone" meme music.

[@lostpony4885]

Watching im all "get out of the house"

[@emmahealy4863]

haha I always love throwing rocks at loose looking cliffs at the brach

[@traildude7538]

A friend in my university days spent several summers examining coastal deposits in Oregon and found area after area that have been tilted and then falling back level over and over, showing that as the subduction zone pressure builds sections of the crust along the coast tilt from the pressure and then when a big quake hits the slabs of crust drop back to level, which complicates a quake because while the ground is shaking it's also tilting.

[@damienscanlon6965]

Your information access is amazing. Such a great job. Keep it up my friend.

[@Josh-gv3ir]

In Oregon, this earthquake is pounded into our heads via school. They basically tell us "yeah there is an earth quake that's supposed to come every 300 years, but it's late and can come anytime. So let's hope we don't dir

[@teamridgeback]

Yup

[@edwardo2518]

I realize this may be a bit trite by now, it seems to be quite good advise " To live as if every day is the last." Our future is not assured, just think hard about this Covid 19 situation.

[@jasoncole2876]

@@edwardo2518 I am "thinking hard" about the Covid situation. Look at the death toll compared to 2019. You are being lied to. Hopefully this is good news to you.

[@gregme5601]

@@jasoncole2876 In the beginning the MSM quoted that if no precaution was taken 2.2 million people would die and if precaution was taken 1.2 million would die in the U.S. How people forget news from one day to the next day.

[@liamwinter4512]

Oregon spelling champion

[@jwayneair]

I feel like Cascadia and Yellowstone are making plans for a date...

[@vikiwalters8767]

The real date is when Cascadia and San Andreas hook up

[@vikiwalters8767]

@Are You Going To Do The 'Ora Ora' Thing? actually go watch the Geographics on Yellowstone, probably nothing to worry about there!

[@rodinunez5967]

More like smash and pass (;

[@Comuniity_]

@@vikiwalters8767 why not a thruple

[@Comuniity_]

@@vikiwalters8767 were always talking worst case, and Yellowstones worst case it definitely worrying

[@joelllamas3367]

growing up in Mexico city all my life and living thru countless earthquakes, I can guarantee you that this documentary is 100% accurate . great work

[@BradLancaster86]

Can say that I've felt two good ones 3-4 on the scale on Vancouver island, notably my high school English teacher tossed us away from our desks so she could hide under it for us. That was the one that damaged some buildings in Washington state that year some time around 2003. the second one was while I was in college and it felt like some one dropped a fridge on our house, woke up my room mate who said it was like a bell ringing through the basement off the bedrock. You feel em or hear them.

[@biblereading2316]

"Mostly quiet, but occasionally apocalyptic" 😂

[@allananonimozeta9345]

Sounds like antifa/blm

[@crazybrit-nasafan]

Sounds like one of my ex girlfriends 😂

[@billm7035]

“We don’t expect this will happen again anytime soon”, The CDC describing a more deadly SARS type outbreak in 2014

[@MarcelaElviraTimis]

@dotdotdashed I'm pretty sure that's exactly what would nappen if healthcare became unavailable... hence the mask mandates and the distancing stuff many people don't want to follow

[@richardhobbs7360]

@Alex Evans bro, 1 in 100 is still alot of people, thats 3.6 million in the US alone, doesnt sound like much but if you went to a school with 200 students 2 of them will die, 20 in a school of 2000, and on and on and on, just cause "well a lot of people aren't dying" doesn't mean you're right oh and you are just objectively wrong about the "why aren't more rural Chinese people dying than westerners" as even if China was trust able, which they aren't, unless Chinese people have a gene that stops them dying from pneumonia that no one else has, which they don't, then they'd dying at a much higher rate, now does that make sense?

[@richardhobbs7360]

@Alex Evans UK, that’s my point, anyone who is saying they have the same death rate as a western countries whilst also not having as good healthcare is lying They are running out of ventilators world wide as the cases spiked the ventilation manufacturing was already at 100% And the school analogy still works, still 1 in 100 people be it 1 in 100 colleagues or 1 in 100 peers, it’s just a way to put it in perspective

[@snieves4]

@dotdotdashed do all lives matter?

[@snieves4]

@dotdotdashed why did you make an ignorant factually incorrect statement that leads to fracturing the effort needed to get us through a pandemic?

[@lisabeloved]

I grew up on the coast of Washington just south of Victoria BC. Learning about the "big one" coming absolutely terrified me as a teen. I've now moved eastward to a town just south of Vancouver BC 😅 right on the I5. Still not quite far away enough to be in the clear, but much better odds and definitely on higher ground.

[@frankreads8618]

I'm really fascinated by how the scientists collected and studied the oral folklore of Native Americans and used to it essentially triangulate an actual event.

[@sportsmag6148]

Simon: "It's unlikely it will happen in your lifetime" 2020: "Hold my Corona"

[@dianapovero7319]

I hate to break it to you, but Epidimiologist have been waiting about 50 years for a global pandemic to reoccur- it's the long lull that was the surprise...

[@VanillaMacaron551]

People win lotteries every day with far smaller odds.

[@TheWolfsnack]

.....shouts over to the Yellowstone Caldera to join in on the fun....

[@fraserhenderson7839]

that unfortunate beer...

[@goldenhate6649]

@@TheWolfsnack Yellowstone is growing, but they have confirmed we will be dust by time it ruptures.

[@Smellbringer]

"When the big one hits, Nevada will be wine country." - Robin WIlliams

[@jasonirwin4631]

The beach front property in Arizona joke is going to take on a meaning.

[@dingleberryhandpump802]

@@jasonirwin4631 Learn to swim

[@self-transforming_machine-elf]

​@@dingleberryhandpump802 Learn to swim

[@juststained]

"see you down in Arizona Bay.."

[@marieduran6286]

LOLOLOL!!! That is one good way of looking at it.

[@arabellachampaq689]

I do appreciate your programming, Simon. Thank you

[@virginiadare1587]

Almost 47 years (since birth) in Western Washington state and I've felt one earthquake in February 2001. You can't really sweat the big stuff.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

As a geologist living near San Francisco, both the Cascadia and San Andreas Fault Systems are of great concern to me, not only for major earthquakes but for huge tsunamis. It always fascinates, and dismays, me that surveys of factors considered of importance to potential home buyers, the first priority is “view”, the last priority is “geologic safety”. Even though the most modest “entry level” home starts at about $1.5 million where I live, buyers can’t be bothered to get a geologic report, or even read the ones that have already been done for the specific property. Then when their houses fall down, they go around shouting “why didn’t anyone tell me?!” Nor do very many buy earthquake insurance, it’s really expensive and only pays 75% of the value of the home. I can’t afford it myself.

[@davelawless6874]

$1.5M you must be riiiiich 😅🤑👏🏻👍🏻

[@brandonskalsky5484]

The San Andreas is unlikely to produce any significant tsunami because it's located almost entirely on land and it's not a thrust fault, so there would be minimal vertical change to the sea floor

[@davidlafleche1142]

People in California are insane. Why do they build houses on steep hills, with no foundation, propped up on stilts? Those hills are prone to landslides, whether there's an earthquake or not. They're little more than sand dunes. Worst of all, the houses are built on narrow, winding streets, where it's nearly impossible to drive fire engines. Those hills are also prone to fires, caused by the Santa Anna Winds, and nearly impossible to fight (See documentary, "Design for Disaster"). As far as earthquakes go, I'd be far more concerned about the Mississippi River valley. The New Madrid Fault caused a series of big earthquakes, during the winter of 1811-1812. No one knows the exact magnitude, but it was estimated around 8. If something that big should happen again, cities like St. Louis and Memphis would be destroyed. They're not ready for it. Neither is Charleston, S.C. They had a big one (August 31, 1886). They're due for another. There shall be earthquakes, in divers places. Can you imagine an Alaska-sized earthquake hitting Toronto or Miami?

[@c8Lorraine1]

WHY ARE YOU STILL LIVING IN SF ? As a geologist, you should know better. Don’t say your job is keeping you here. What’s wrong with that assertion

[@raltog8654]

Is there any point getting a geologic survey? If it goes you're all in trouble.

[@SRFriso94]

Simon: "The next mega quake is 70 years overdue." 2020: _Sits quitely in the corner taking notes._

[@sportster306]

@waylon lewin hey bro, ever, heard, of, a comma? ,,,,,,,

[@matronista]

@@sportster306 But didn’t say anything about original commenter typing “quitely” instead of “quietly”.

[@matronista]

Great comment!

[@sportster306]

@@matronista I recognized it, but it is a minor and common error compared to the blatant non use of grammatical marks.

[@matronista]

@@sportster306 That’s ok. Right before I made my earlier comment, I corrected someone’s “looser” to “loser”. That really gets under my skin. Lol

[@larafaith84]

I live 20mins outside Spokane, Washington and we had a very weak 2.7 tremor the other day. They happen once in a while in Eastern Washington, but usually so weak that we don't feel anything. Just like the one from the other day.

[@timpoolssentientbeanie5646]

I know this is an old video but the part where Simon says the average person in the northwest has never felt a quake over 4.0 is nuts. I think just about everyone in Oregon and Washington felt the Nisqually Quake of 2001 which was under a 7.0 but was widely felt and occurred for more than a solid minute

[@Glennn7]

Also felt in southwestern BC, Canada.

[@kathyorourke9273]

Yes, fish tank slopping and cabinet doors opening and banging shut. Like a cartoon! In Hillsboro Oregon.

[@bernmcnicholl8345]

I felt the Niqually quake at work in North Vancouver Canada. It was so weird I was on the phone. I was saying to the person on the phone why are the janitors polishing the floors with a mechanical floor polisher. Then I got, wait we have carpet. The vibration got louder. Then things began to shake. My office window popped in and out like a diaphragm. Causing enough persure to blow papers across the desk. Clearly nothing like downtown Nisqually but blowing papers across my desk was interesting to see.

[@richj120952]

I actually worked in the FEMA Cascadia table top exercise. This is where experts in their respective fields estimated the damages, and how quickly emergency crews could respond, also, how long it would take to recover. Everything this video says is exactly what the exercise determined. I was part of the Portland portion. In Portland, the downtown area will be subject to liquifaction. Buildings that are brick will of course, simply fall apart, everything else will sink into what will turn into quicksand. There will be bridges still standing, but the approaches will have been sunk. I-5 will be impassable. The Portland Airport will be unusable as it is also built on soil that is subject to liquefaction. Of course the dams on the Columbia will have failed, meaning flooding and total loss of power from that source. Railroads will also have failed, as their bridges will have been destroyed, and parts of the lines will also suffer sinking as they are next to the Columbia, Willamette, and other rivers. So, evacuating millions of people will not be possible, via North/South routes.. What about East (West will also be impossible as that is closer to the fault and will totally have been wiped out.). Well, guess what, there is no viable route East. How about long term? PGE Engineers said that power would take about 3 years to bring back. So, even if water and sewer lines had not been broken (which of course they will have been totaled) no pumping could take place. People will be stuck, no way to get in to deliver aid, no way for them to leave. Remember that 3 day emergency supply you are supposed to have?? Won't do you any good.

[@juliebraden]

o.......m........g........ no pwr for months? yrs? how r we gonna make it thru this aftermath??? ayeayeayeaye

[@richj120952]

@@juliebraden Actually, since there is no real escape, I think that it will be a bit of the lord of the flies situation. Again, when there is no power, there will be no water as the water system requires power to pump water up into those water towers. The same thing with the sewer system, it requires power and water to pump sewage through the plants. (Of course, it can and does spill over into the rivers. Thus depriving folks of that source of fresh water.) The deaths that happened during the earthquake, and tidal wave will be minor in comparison to what happens after. Again, no way in or out for a very long time (Of course there will be trickle, but nothing that will make much of a difference.) Seattle will be in better shape, as they will have sea access, assuming Mt Rainer doesn't erupt because of the earthquake.) The rest of the coast could be OK for the same reason. The Willamette valley will be toast.

[@juliebraden]

@@richj120952 the town of Aurora , OR just dealt w/ that water tower scenario-- from the pwr outtages during ice storm in Oregon Feb 2021 I think. Two other Oregon towns had to lend them generators

[@richj120952]

@@juliebraden The governments in Oregon and the Willamette Valley have been shorting the safety of their population for many years. Back in Portland, there was a plan to install a freeway from Mt Hood to Portland. Then they took that money and put in their light rail that doesn't really reduce traffic, but they did get a shiny new thing to get the voters to vote them back into office, and in one case into Congress. Traffic is a real mess still. (OK, 2020 reduced it, but it is coming back soon.) That freeway would have provided an East/West exit from the Valley when the Cascadia fault event actually happens.

[@cheskal]

I received an email from one of our Oregon state senators a few years after the New Zealand quake that said this same thing. He said we all better be prepared for at least 3 weeks because we were on our own for at LEAST that long. That the state would not be coming to help us because the state would not be ABLE to help us if the quake is as big as they expect it to be. And that things like flooding, liquefaction & damage to the infrastructure would make travel to affected areas dangerous if not impossible. It basically said to expect help from no one but yourself & encouraged people to make a earthquake plan together with close neighbors. It was not a reassuring email. But I put together a good emergency kit after that. Now after watching this, I think I better update that kit. ASAP. I'm sure most of the food, water & medicine are expired. It's easy to get complacent & time goes by so quickly .. but if we aren't prepared, we won't stand a chance of surviving at all. This was seriously the wrong video to watch right before bed.

[@erinrising2799]

as an Oregonian, I wanted to say thank you for pronouncing our state correctly, and curse you for making it impossible to sleep tonight.

[@starman2k209]

Can anyone say "ORYGUN" ?

[@kayskidf1]

@@starman2k209 sounda more like"organ"

[@willlavine1105]

diddo in the second part

[@primovid]

Tonight, only?

[@chronosschiron]

oregino?

[@hyper_nova09]

I love your Geographics channel, it's one of my favorites. Thanks!

[@missionpreparedness1533]

Superb analysis and explanation as usual...Your content is both informing and warning to be aware of what may come.

[@kre8or465]

"some say the fight was between thunderbird and Transformer" I immediately imagined Optimus Prim punching Zaptos in the face.

[@KaladinVegapunk]

Honestly that's also through oral tradition so maybe it evolved into that haha. Could be ancient mortal kombat fans talking about raiden vs shang tsung It's odd though, all the oral tradition I've been involved with its be really difficult to talk and tell stories

[@jacleesx2022]

Wrong it was Voltron kicking Megazord's ass

[@jamiebarba5701]

Optimus Prime

[@maudglazbrooke1287]

If it was Transformer vs Phoenix we'd be talking X-Men crossover then we'd have a Micheal Bay movie so the plot really wouldn't matter.

[@SuperAntichicken]

Let's hope it goes down like that

[@mbainrot]

"Mostly quiet, but occasionally apocolyptic" - Simon 2020

[@Joey-ok6rs]

Sounds like my ex amirite bois?

[@mho...]

sounds like farting!

[@simonsenaviev7541]

I never said that

[@MentoringGrowingLeaders]

Famous last words!

[@dundonrl]

Having grown up in Cascadia, and my family moving there in the early 19th century. (not the subduction zone, but the community of Cascadia in Oregon) I enjoy reading and hearing about anything "Cascadia".

[@liliaalvarado7040]

Growing up in LA and now in Seattle, I do wonder how the years that have gone by affect the probabilities of this happening. I remember the 1994 Northridge (a 6.7), and living only a couple of miles from DTLA, it felt like a rocking on a pendulum, that started out of nowhere. Visited family in Northridge and in the same block one house was ok, the next one completely destroyed. That one helped that it happened at 4:30am, and the destruction on the freeways was minimal. I think only one guy on a motorcycle was injured as he was on the 110. Now, to think of this one....there are no words. With the ground moving so much, and so many hills with giant rocks embedded into the soil itself... I am a couple of hills and and about a mile East of the 5 currently, in a building that finished construction last year. Wont be in the clear, but I do hope that I would somehow survive...

[@rhov-anion]

In Portland, we say "if the ground shakes, look to the mountain." Not only is Cascadia due, but so is Mount Hood erupting. So either quake or volcano eruption, your pick.

[@unfriendlyjack4223]

WildRhov An earthquake on a big cascadia scale, I'd say both have a fair chance of happening.

[@vjs4539]

The planet would be better off without the people in Portland, Seattle, and California.

[@mauidano13]

VJ S be careful what you wish for

[@rhov-anion]

@@vjs4539 nice to know you're totally okay with the death 46 million people just because 40% of them don't follow the same political ideology as you. Few people are aware that only 43% of registered voters in California are Democrats, 40% in Washington, and only 34% in Oregon. I mean, we do have like 8-10 parties, not just two, but hey, killing tens of millions to wipe out a few Democrats... I sure hope you don't believe in a deity, because it'll be really awkward to explain your reasons for writing that comment when it's brought up against you in the afterlife.

[@unassumingaccount395]

@@vjs4539 sorry bro i dont speak alabama

[@jestami]

"Ur gonna die and all ur loved ones will fall with you..... Anyways, dont forget to support todays sponsor, Curiosity stream"

[@SwedeProof]

🤣 😱 🤣 😱 🤣 😱 🤣 😱

[@WarEagleTimeMachine]

Well if it counts for anything Curiosity Stream is really enjoyable.

[@tonefaulcon9729]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@zoranlojanica]

we're all gonna die eventually, without a doubt. But I would get out of that area if I lived there

[@orestisdionyssiosvonk4906]

Dear Simon! How are you? My name is Orestis Dionyssios Vonk. I am half Dutch half Greek. Mother is Greek and my father is Dutch. I live in the Greek island of Zakynthos (very famous by a lot of your drunk fellow countrymen 😜) this island wat hit by a huge earthquake in August 1953 . Also the neighbouring islands of Kefalonia and Itaka (island of Odyssey) tens of thousands of people lost there homes. Honderds died and thousand left for other countries for a beter life! 90% of the infrastructure of these islands was destroyed. The British navy was the first one to help people (thank you for that!) like my grandfather and mother (my mother was born one year after that). It’s a very unknown story in Europe and the world. Yet it was a huge disaster for people who had just suffer: A Nazi Germany and Italian occupation and a Greek civil war! I always watch your videos. I have learnt so much from you (thank you for that too :) I really hope that you want to look in to this subject!

[@daniellecheree]

I live in thousand oaks CA. Last summer we had a large earthquake and it literally felt like my upstairs apartment was swaying up and down like i was on a boat. I yelled out to God and i begged him for mercy. It is a very helpless feeling when you are in your bed and then yhe house is shaking and i live alone, so im scared because honestly i think a big one is coming soon.

[@keepcalmyouexist358]

I live in Greece, a relatively earthquake-prone country, and I've been laughing at my German mother for being afraid of them. I need to go apologise. Maybe get her some flowers too. Or a hardhat.

[@hhjohn2766]

Well this aged horribly

[@marinigrey4913]

Lol.... To funny... I'd go with the hard hat on.. Does she throw things... Lol...

[@LakeofCrystalclan]

Is this about the earthquake in the Aegean Sea in October?

[@timan2039]

As the son of German mother I would fill the hardhat with flowers and favored confection.

[@davidlafleche1142]

You want to really scare her? Show her videos of Alaska (1964) and Yellowstone Park (1959). Those earthquakes were huge!

[@christian2418]

Coming from someone who's lived my entire life in the pacific northwest, you shouldn't live here without an emergency plans for natural disasters earthquakes or not. If it's not an earthquake it'll be a savage wildfire. Either way you don't want to wait until it's happening to figure out what you're gonna do.

[@SamIAm10262]

You shouldn't live ANYWHERE without emergency plans.

[@no_peace]

Even if you don't live to see any earthquake, you need to have some cash, food, water, supplies (including for pets) and personal items (meds, documents, etc.)... My extended family didn't lose anything in the earthquakes or snowstorms or anything but there have been two families that lost their houses in fires, and people have lost jobs or lost family members who were the breadwinners. Having supplies buys you time. My best friend's house burned down and they couldn't go back in, and they had to get a hotel room paid for by the red cross, but they didn't have any food or cooking tools, or hygiene stuff or anything. I mean nary a granola bar. Like it just sets you up for cascading failures. How are they supposed to go to work if they can't get their work clothes? Or if the clothes burned up in the fire? What if they can't buy new clothes because they had to spend their money on cookware and food? What if their car keys were in the house and burned up? What if the hotel doesn't accept their pets? Etc. Do yourself a favor!

[@no_peace]

*especially if you live in an apartment. I'm really worried my idiot neighbors are going to shoot one of us through the wall or light the place on fire

[@iraniansuperhacker4382]

You cant really plan for something like cascadia tho. Even fema's plan starts off with the assumption that everything west of interstate 5 is destroyed. If you live in a tsunami area what can you do beside run to higher ground? I think people should have emergency food and water but in the case of this type of earthquake that isnt going to help you.

[@apophispnw5717]

Most people here probably have no plans at all. They just assume “eh they’ve been talking about it for the last 50 years, it’s not ever gunna happen”.

[@kevinerhart8461]

Excellent work thank you for your time detail this

[@Valleybeautiful]

I've been in earthquakes my whole life, so I'm a little desensitized to them I'll have to admit. I grew up in a small town in Northern CA. one summer when I was 8 yrs old there was a series of earthquakes. the biggest one was thought to be between 5.7 and 6.1. not really sure why they couldn't nail it down more. there were a series of 61 pre-schocks before that one and apparently thousands of after shocks. the one I have the most clear memory of....not sure if it was the big one or a pre-shock. my family was spending the day at the river. I had climbed some rocks that went almost all the way across the river. I got out to the middle on one huge rock that also was fairly wobbly. the quake hit. I remember yelling and turning around wanting to go back, and my dad yelling back at me to stand still and not move. we were all taught as kids what to do in an earthquake and got plenty of practice that summer. at the time they said to stand under a doorway, but they've changed it since then and say now to lay down in front of a piece of furniture like a couch or bed right next to it on the floor so you will be in the "L" space that nothing large can fall into. fast forward to adulthood. I moved a couple hours away...50 or 60 miles outside SF. in 1989, I had a new born daughter who was in her swing when Loma Prieta hit. mind you we were 60 miles from the epi center. I was watching my daughter in her baby swing when all of a sudden I lost my equilibrium. I knew what had happened and turned on the news immediately. I still can't believe I was that far away and felt it. next big one worth mentioning was the 6.0 Napa quake in 2014 I believe. that one was at around 3am and we were living about 25 miles from Napa. that's the first quake that really concerned me. it woke me up out of a sound sleep and I sat up on the edge of the bed. the house was rocking back and forth at an alarming strength. I was totally calm but at some point it dawned on me that I was upstairs and that's when I got a little worried. what if we needed to get out and there was damage and debris blocking o the stairs. definitely want to be on the ground level during a quake. I've been through many others that were just little shakies. there are generally 2 types...... the shakers and the rollers. in 2015, my husband's plant closed and he ended up commuting to work right outside SF. I packed him a survival backpack and he took a good mountain bike down and left it in his shop. that was our plan for him to get home the 40 or so miles if the bridge went out or was blocked. we even had a plan for alternate route and to get on the train tracks to get over the bay if the second bridge was blocked or out. really glad we never had to put our plan to the test. now we don't live anywhere near the San Andreas or CA. but I have loved ones who do so praying this scenario never happens

[@juliecramer7768]

Thanks for sharing

[@wagz2003]

Well, we can cross that general area off of my "possible places to retire" list.

[@brandonbam1]

It's expensive as fuck here . After hearing this I'm going my ass back to Wisconsin asap lol

[@kurtklimisch7498]

Moved from Michigan 30 years ago. This is the most beautiful place in the world. I would not trade those 30 years for 60 years in the mid-west.

[@caldy206]

Eastern Washington will still be here and maybe some nice new waterfront property.

[@SuperReznative]

. repent know Jesus/God, everyone. your eternal soul with Him.. is your name written in the Lamb's book of life. That is the list of possible place to retire for eternity.

[@SuperReznative]

@@brandonbam1 revere God /know Jesus.. take Him where ever you go..He knew you, yet while you knit in your mother's womb He cares for you. Jesus is Lord of all

[@boudicaastorm4540]

Although the events were terrible, it is awesome how these mythologies from the people in the Pacific Northwest helped scientists to track down an earthquake from over 300 years ago.

[@EntryLevelLuxury]

Makes you wonder about the Dogon saying they came from Sirius...

[@mehere8038]

yeh, but crazy it took them so long to do it! In the Asian Tsunami that caused tens of thousands of deaths, there were a handful of exceptions - communities that had kept their oral history alive. In those cases 100% of them survived, cause when the seas fell, they all immediately ran for high ground. & it's really not mythology you know, sure there's some of that, so that was shared cause it sounds good, but they were able to track down the exact date & time, cause their oral history records were so accurate & detailed. The mythology bit is just added as memory cues, the data is far more accurate than written records (since written records are destroyed much more easily)

[@lawrencethompson3868]

Whyt ppl and their astounding arrogance

[@EntryLevelLuxury]

@@lawrencethompson3868 way to be unnecessarily racist 👌

[@lawrencethompson3868]

@@EntryLevelLuxury Tell that to the whyt arrogant racists who ignored the earthquake warnings of the same natives that were viewed as savages and killed. Yet, as described in this video, come to find out were right all along about seismic activities, and still being labeled a myth. But sure, label me the racist...lol Typical whyt racist projections due to the effects of typical whyt brainwashing.

[@strongmermaid4651]

Wondering how many ppl will be here watching after Turkey and Syria today 2/6/23

[@NurseEmilie]

Very interesting and inforative. Thank you.

[@Gala-yp8nx]

What did the Earth say about the earthquake? “Sorry, It’s my fault.”

[@patrickbly4170]

😗😳😀

[@Tanspotty]

NoOOooOoOoOoooOooOOOooOo

[@ghost-4783]

Good one dad

[@ligerfelikscayanga7361]

Smart ass jokes🤣🤣

[@jeremyslaymaker]

So good!!!😂

[@dustonc1]

The first rule of living on Cascadia Subduction Zone: DON'T TALK ABOUT CASCADIA SUBDUCTION ZONE!

[@haramanggapuja]

My son and daughter-in-law live in Portland. They don't even like to hear us ask about it. Ignorance is bliss. They are in Nirvana.

[@Christopher-N]

Bruce: Rule six-there is no rule six!

[@mattandmegandiercks8809]

The lack of communicating potential dangers in your area regardless wherever you live is a danger in itself and is unacceptable as a good citizen to your community

[@KaladinVegapunk]

I'm curious though..I'm from Santa Barbara, it's right on the coast but our beaches face south, not west, and the channel islands a few miles offshore run the length of town and block most offshore weather.. would we be safe?

[@mattandmegandiercks8809]

Odin Satanas Technically your still on the west coast North American plate with the Pacifc plate west of you and underneath you. Stay safe god bless

[@robynw6307]

Would have been interesting to see a prediction of what the western coastline would look like afterwards. Also, I wonder if the tsunami would travel as far as Australia where I live.

[@janethagaman9075]

I remember one earthquake. I was babysitting my neighbors chickens and one day after I was there for an hour, they all squated down spreding thier wings down on each side while I grabbed a tree and hung on. Lasted @ 5 minutes but I was thrilled by the experiance. Kudos to the chickens for the warning.

[@kevinmcfarley156]

You didn't mention that along this earthquakes zone from California to Canada, there are seven active volcanos. Some of them will erupt.

[@CathPresbyter]

Yep so if anyone wants to see Crater lake in the near future your odds run down of it not being there the way it is now. I always find it odd they call it a Crater, its a caldera. Beautiful Skiing on Shasta gone, and maybe even Mt. St Helens will go again.

[@chrisduitsman2918]

@@CathPresbyter Don't forget about Mt. Rainier, that'll also probably erupt either during or shortly after the main quake.

[@a2shillam]

Hahaha. That's why it's called the Pacific Ring of Fire 🔥.

[@abelis644]

@@chrisduitsman2918 No, not necessarily. The subduction quakes we've had, like the Japan quake did not trigger any volcanic activity. The only time this would happen would be if a volcano was already ready to blow prior to the earthquake. Mount St. Helens could perhaps erupt because it has been somewhat active, the rest of the series likely would not.

[@carolweaver3269]

TY Kevin that will help.

[@mland2012]

It's really nice to hear the oral histories treated as useful records of past events. Growing up in the PNW, it sometimes feels like local history begins in the 1800s and everything before that just gets relegated to a very impersonal archaeology.

[@darylb5564]

I think they use the carbon date and the written history. The oral history just makes for an entertaining tail

[@TheAerialgreen]

@@darylb5564 True. The scientists got only the approximate year based on the carbon and tree ring dating, and the exact date and time came from the detailed tsunami records written by the Japanese. The oral legends definitely supplemented their research though.

[@sbkenn1]

That goes right across the USA. I recently got a book from my library about pre-USA history of the Americas. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the right head-space to actually read it, but I hope to soon. There were an estimated 50 - 80 MILLION natives died by being hunted, starved, frozen, or from disease brought by Europeans.

[@louschwick7301]

Well, as u've seen in the video, oral histories are kinda difficult to sift thru for information because often they quickly become legend

[@sbkenn1]

@@louschwick7301 Oral histories are usually passed down as poetry or riddles. If you listen to them several times, then cross reference to ones from other tribes, you can often find the truth

[@williamlitsch5506]

I lived near Seattle for 30 or so years and experienced 2 or 3 quakes that I could both feel and see so you're not quite right there.

[@gretchenmyers1279]

I worked on a horse farm near Mt. Angel, OR when the earthquake happened in the 90's. I was pissed off the morning before the quake because normally neat stalls (ie urine and feces confined to one small part of the stall) were an absolute wreck, and normally placid horses were being generally dickish. That night, the quake happened, and afterwards the horses were back to normal

[@Perktube1]

Remember when we welcomed in 2020 with hopes it would be better than 2019?

[@brendaseigler3923]

Yep !!

[@janiceduncan7908]

Well the Dems and crooked Piglosi are still there. That's a problem.

[@beth8991]

@@janiceduncan7908 maybe they will all be home when it happens. Let them feel first hand what they always avoid.

[@beth8991]

@Plant Ster Poor you! You want to experience an earthquake for real? Go to Indonesia, Japan, Alaska or South America. They are increasing in size and frequency. Sheer terror.

[@Romin.777]

I was sick during new years eve, as sick as i never had been before.

[@mattb2382]

Ah so that's what 2020 is getting us for xmas.

[@barbaralindhjem1582]

Nope..... it's for holloween.

[@stlkngyomom]

Karma is individual and collective,guess we've been bad this year...

[@skystriker1238]

@@stlkngyomom It's the west coast, it's not like it's a bad thing tbh

[@samkin73]

Probably

[@stlkngyomom]

@@skystriker1238 Good point and a lot of people are leaving alredy(for some reasons),but it's the 4-5th largest egonomy(if California was a state)fallout would be"unpleasant"to put it lightly.

[@sandratussey2624]

Biggest I've lived through on the North Coast of California was in 1992 at 7.2 on the Richter scale. Pretty significant and we've had quite a few more that almost matched that since then.

[@graxmccoar8678]

I was in the eastern Coast Range foothills W of Salem OR for the 1999 Nisqually quake, on the phone with someone 20 miles from it in Washington when the quake started. My friend could see that it was moving South, and how fast, as it reached puddles. He'd thought it was the train at first. We stayed on the phone until the first vibration got to my place along with the noise you don't exactly 'hear', then ran for outdoors. Out in the country there are trees. Poles with powerlines. Streams and ponds held in place by unreinforced berms. Running away from an earthquake sends you out of your building to where there's all that stuff waiting to fall on you, and you run back to the strongest doorway and see small gaps overhead and things that should be structurally squared, but aren't. You end up in the middle of a road on any sort of flat land where there aren't any overhead wires or places the road could collapse into, or out in a pasture that you hope isn't supported by many many feet of wet sand and mud that is being vibrated into bottomless slop. Then you wait, until it seems to have finished, thinking about how there is *no place to go*. Nisqually wasn't even a BIG quake.

[@reneejackson3298]

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

[@workhardism]

What?

[@kevmasengale6903]

@@workhardism luckily for you, that joke went over your head

[@perrydowd9285]

😂🤣

[@reneejackson3298]

@@perrydowd9285 I concur! 😁

[@jacobcastro1885]

Dark humor at its finest.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:45 - Chapter 1 - The orphan wave 4:35 - Chapter 2 - Shadow of the thunderbird 8:15 - Chapter 3 - The beast below 12:40 - Mid roll ads 13:50 - Chapter 4 - Finding the fault 17:10 - Chapter 5 - Disaster 20:00 - Chapter 6 - Drowning man

[@kingdomofhope3371]

Wormwood is coming. Look at the Black Hole Sun on his right..🪐🔴☄🙏🏽🥰

[@eave01]

Oh ignition, thank you. All the mythology was eating my soul.

[@MichaelJohnson-gh7ls]

I live in Western WA. Grew up just west of Olympia. The Nisqually quake might not be the biggest thing out there, but at 11 years old, it was a huge deal, and my only first hand experience. We were in school that day. There were two emergency drills that day; one was a lock down, other was fire. Coming in from the fire drill I remember saying something like "what's next, an earthquake drill". Seemed like 5 minutes later, but the earthquake was no drill. Mostly brick school took a fair bit of damage but nothing fell. Mom worked at the school, so me and my sister were home pretty quickly. House was fine other than the 500 gallon propane tank on its side. There were a couple aftershocks, the biggest of which I slept through. Woke up with my bookcase on the bed lol. I think that event as a whole sparked something in me, because to this day I love natural disasters. Not the deaths... that would be horrible. But the intense and raw nature is a big rush for me. Been through a tornados in the midwest (minor but it came right through the back yard) and even though I was old enough to know better, I would have been out playing in it if my mom didn't have a hold on me like Thanos holding his gauntlet. Floods, windstorms, ice storm...especially when power is out for weeks, I love it.

[@jayehum5019]

Not to downplay the terrible losses of the earthquakes Simon mentioned, I am always amazed at how many docos forget that the 2004 Sumatran earthquake, (also caused by a subduction earthquake) and the tsunamis which followed, killed over 250,000 people.

[@dadzawa_actual]

"71,000, as many will run to the hills".... I think you forget how absolutely moronic some people in America can be.... We'd rather stand there and take a selfie.

[@ShadyLady988]

At least we'll have some amazing live stream videos to watch from those who stayed in place and pulled out phones.

[@andrewjones-productions]

..more likely to want to try shooting at it.

[@FRANKBURNSONE]

I think you meant to say "I think you forget how absolutely moronic (Almost all) people in California Are!" Leave the rest of us out of it.

[@jasonanfinson9346]

One things for sure...all the idiots will buy up all the toilet paper

[@SuperReznative]

@@FRANKBURNSONE 👍🙏🙏🙏🇨🇦❤️

[@stevyd]

As a Californian that lives between the San Andreas and Hayward Faults, I keep my dishes in the lower kitchen cabinets and the Tupperware up above. Oh, and a helmet and swim fins close at hand.

[@hosmerhomeboy]

good luck with the swim fins. Though you probably needn't be worried about a tsunami anyway. They're terrifying, but if you live a few miles inland or up, no worries at all.

[@hexedmarionette]

don't forget the snorkel!

[@MissMyMusicAddiction]

@@hexedmarionette or the shark repellant. and mostly the sunscreen.

[@rogerhelbig9458]

Why the helmet and swim fins?

[@antonbruce1241]

@@rogerhelbig9458 Well, since she lives in the Bay Area, it's not such a bad idea....

[@virgilviereckjr.6881]

Thank you for this important information

[@lesbendo6363]

Coeur years ago we moved from Richmond BC, elevation 0 meters to North Aldergrove, elevation 95 meters or 311 feet. 30 kilometers or 20 miles inland. 🇨🇦

[@LolUGotBusted]

Me: I'm shook Simon: Not yet you aren't

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

Master Yoda: You will be. You. Will. Be

[@sbonnington4499]

Priceless!!! :)

[@nickvoelker7180]

"If you live in the PNW you've probably never experienced a 4.0 quake". Me distinctly remembering my house violently shaking a few months ago from a 6.5 magnitude quake...And there's been two 4.0 quakes in the last 3 days.

[@LVRugger]

I came here to say this. In my first 3 years living in Seattle we had several 3-4 quakes. Then the Nisqually in 2001. I moved to Vegas.

[@scottlemiere2024]

We get moderate to large quakes in the area every few years.

[@user-id6en1be4e]

Great stuff!

[@JeremyPickett]

Oregonian here. In 2001 I think? There was a quake in Washington/Oregon that was around a four. I was in my cubicle at an office, and the building swayed for about ten seconds. At first I thought a coworker was just poking my chair or something, then I turned around and saw other cubicles swaying. Nobody got hurt I seem to recall. Oh, and when the cascadia hits, I already have the 'safe' route planned. (Go up an un-wooded hill.)

[@shabb3321]

Living in Oregon all my life, there's this funny comfort and discomfort people have. East coast, you get hurricanes and giant snowstorms, further west you get tornadoes and more snowstorms, down in Cali it's earthquakes and fires all the time, but here in the PNW it's always quiet. It just rains a lot. But there's that looming idea that one of these days, one of those volcanoes are gonna go off again or that that big earthquake is gonna hit and everything is gonna go tits up immediately. I'd rather take this than dealing with a new hurricane ever year honestly.

[@brandon9172]

You'll be saying that until it actually happens, in which case you'll immediately wish it were hurricanes instead 😂

[@alexanderreynolds6018]

Move to Denver and the only thing you'll ever have to worry about is a minor snow storm every year in March!

[@oliverford9325]

Kinda like jellystone. We sit back and have a beer when some geologists screech about the big pop.

[@o_sch]

Midwest great lakes area is just like that except minus the earthquakes. The lakes mitigate any storms to not do much damage or be very severe.

[@Bloodwhiner]

Lived in Florida my whole life and while we do get hurricanes, at least they come with a few day's notice. Unlike an earthquake, I won't be waking up at a new address.

[@eyeborg3148]

2020: August: Cascadia Fault earthquake September: Yellowstone supervolcano eruption October: Nuclear war November: Earth gets hit by an asteroid strike December: Aliens attack

[@StfuFFS]

"Earth gets hit by an asteroid strike" is an interesting way of saying "Trump reelected".

[@blubbber]

sounds good.. sign me up for the tour :)

[@jamesfracasse8178]

So in short 2020 is the end of earth.

[@corin418]

aliens are only pencilled in for now. we have Great Cthulhu waking as a standby

[@davidlalas]

@Wrong Think basically the end of the US with any of them

[@InTheNameOfLife1]

I was born and raised in Colorado and I personally never sleep well when near an ocean lol. I wasn’t born into the mentality of being prepared for something like that. Particularly when I’ve been to the Oregon coast (which I absolutely adore and find beautiful). I just can’t quite sleep a full night there with this underlying fear of the power of those waves and that fault.

[@hollyellison2655]

Interesting perspective, im the opposite. I grew up next to the coast and when i stayed in denver for a few nights i felt so off knowing i was several hours from any ocean by any means of transport. I dont think i could ever live that far inland lol

[@luckyduck8375]

There are loud sirens all down the coastline. If you are worried get a room on higher ground.

[@user-md8lv1zm6w]

this is great information!!!!

[@Rockstar97321]

I am a land surveyor and civil engineer in Western Oregon near Salem. I have discussed 'the big one' with many people, and I am constantly astounded at how little people know about it. Most of the people have never even heard of it, and if you discuss it, most think that you are a crazy conspiracy theorist. That's because 'the big one' is almost never in the news.

[@jeffdunnell6693]

They don’t teach geology in schools anymore,this was taught in grade schools in the fifties

[@graceg3250]

I live in Portland. Everyone I know has heard about it. But most dismiss it as implausible or not serious. My mother is extremely stressed about it, to the point where she wants to live in a car, rather than stay in an apartment. I have to remind her that newer construction is earthquake resistant and if she lives in her car, she’s have to deal with the fires that start as a result of the quake and she’ll get squashed by falling trees and debris, not to mention the earth swallowing her whole. I think about it enough to know I should have real estate investments in a safe location. And live away from the epicenter.

[@user-mz8kh2xt5v]

My son in law in Tacoma is in denial

[@Rockstar97321]

@@user-mz8kh2xt5v isn't that a river in Egypt?

[@Rockstar97321]

The Tacoma aroma ...

[@shark180]

Future Humans: We stopped global warming! Earth: Great! Here's a mega quake for you guys to play with

[@jgt2598]

Toss in a couple supervolcanos, a magnetic field inversion, and an asteroid for good measure. No matter how you cut it, single-planet species are just waiting to become fossils.

[@justbrowsing6327]

Haha your funny.

[@Thraser999]

@Joe Blow not to mention the incoming ice age...

[@dougn2350]

I was age 6 in 1964 and I remember the ground shaking. Right afterward a News announcement on TV about the Alaskan quake. We lived in Southern Illinois just 12 miles from St Louis

[@sloopy5191]

According to 2 Japanese earthquake preparation specialists I worked with for a few months, we have been lied to. They said we should be expecting a strength of 11 to 11.5 when the "big one" actually happens. The question for British Columbia will be which areas will be hit by the failing dams in the province. BC Hydro doesn't believe the older major dams in BC would survive a catastrophic earthquake...so that means Bennett Dam, Mica Dam and Revelstoke Dam may all fail. I'm not sure which is the more frightening scenario!

[@cruzanbum3108]

That moment you realize the 2012 Mayan calendar probably meant 2021.

[@passionwaldon2005]

Riiiight!!!! They got everything else wrong 'on purpose'. Thats a very smart and probably true account of what may have happened 😳

[@marquisecarr2147]

No when you find out it’s 2012 in Ethiopia u might just rob a bank

[@stormrungaming]

Were just bad at translations.. I mean.. III could be 1 2 or 2 1..

[@JOkERBIDEN]

Do some research, the next grand conjunction happens Dec 21 2020

[@MsHeartIsArt]

🙄

[@giovannibautista2515]

As a Californian living in Los Angeles I’m just praying that the earthquake won’t happen while I’m taking a shit

[@racafritz]

Mine is in the shower.

[@fredferd965]

It doesn't matter. If you live in Los Angeles (a true cosmic hell hole) you already ARE in the shit....

[@giovannibautista2515]

@@fredferd965 true true thank you democrats

[@racafritz]

@@giovannibautista2515 You do know that actual normal people live here, not just political reps?

[@racafritz]

@@fredferd965 Look at you living in a perfect world! Gosh, if only everyone had your perfect life!😒

[@ourfamily3162]

Just wondering? Could we see changes in the Ring of Fire? Are these plates going to move the New Madrid Fault trigging the fault from Tennessee to Washington DC and possibly splitting the country with a much wider Mississippi River. Is there anything which any of our adversaries could do which could set off a Cascadia rupture? Great video!

[@damienmalachi6144]

I live in Eugene, Oregon and have felt 2 earthquakes: Klamath Earthquake (around 1993) and the Springfield Earthquake in 2015. There was also the Mt. Angel Earthquake around 1994, which I didn't feel. All of those were relatively small, but those are the only quakes that I could've been felt in the area since I was born in the late 70s.

[@shadowhenge7118]

I'd imagine that the longer Cascadia goes without slipping, the more energy is stored up, and that "overdue-ness" becomes a death-o-meter.

[@musaran2]

Correct.

[@edphillips2998]

Unless the pressure is getting relieved through an on-goin series of unremarkable “micro-quakes”. Just as possible, not as dramatic.

[@JerryEricsson]

@@edphillips2998 Indeed, it could be that a mud flow has lubed the Cascadia and it is sliding along like an egg on a butter filled Teflon fry pan.

[@sonyacruz8115]

@@JerryEricsson I hope so! My sister moved to Seattle two years ago.

[@gungasc]

A strike slip fault is the most dangerous one when talking about earthquakes.

[@tjanderson8800]

My mom was in Alaska during the 64’ quake, she was 11 years old living in anchorage. She said it seemed to thrash her around for what felt like forever even tho it only lasted 5 minutes. Lol “only” that’s a long time for a earthquake.

[@KatharineOsborne]

The tsunami from that quake wiped out the downtown from my hometown on Vancouver Island. I left 5 days after high school graduation.

[@SS-lt5fo]

The apocolypse bingo

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Minutes turn to hours during a life threatening event. Interesting how that happens, not that I desire time change by life threatening events, not at all.

[@ktvindicare]

Growing up in California I've felt my fair share of earthquakes, some that were even pretty scary (though I did sleep through the Northridge Quake in '94) a 5 minute Earthquake is TERRIFYING. I can't even imagine what that would be like. A quake that lasts longer than two seconds is enough to frighten you. 5 minutes? That's 300 seconds of what would be severe shaking. Anyone that's dealt with earthquakes before know that is no joke at all.

[@penismightier9278]

@@ktvindicare We were in Vegas when the Northridge quake hit. It was strong enough to wake us up in the hotel.

[@motherofdoggos3209]

Dude your narrative voice is the best!

[@xmypantsx]

I was in 4th grade when the snoqualmie quake hit here in Washington back in early 2001, it sounded like someone was rolling the tv/vcr cart down the hallway and then my desk started bouncing up and down.

[@TheYacu]

Dammit, Simon, stopp putting ideas in 2020's head!!!!

[@ydelysuarez2548]

😆😝😂😂

[@alecmartin0180]

Looks like it just struck in Alaska today.

[@Keepers2011]

Hurry up and happen

[@roohamm2456]

My thoughts exactly!

[@GaryR55]

Yeah, really. Isn't Covid-19 bad enough?!

[@hankhillsnrrwurethra]

I was taking a Physical Geology class during the Diablo Canyon demonstrations. I remember the professor saying that he wasn't a political animal, but the idea of building nuclear reactors in that area was insane. He also liked showing slides of houses perched on cliffs in California and estimating how long it would be before the occupants woke up in the ocean.

[@rollinmckim4719]

NEVER trust a professor. PARTICULARLY in California!!! Commies all. BUT........ Houses built on ocean cliffs all along the west coast from mexico into canada........DO seem to be eternally ASKING FOR IT. Hope they're all liberals.

[@dudeanderson2401]

@@rollinmckim4719 the hell is wrong with you. It’s a long coast, you know they aren’t all one thing.

[@MsLiberty101]

@@dudeanderson2401 what's wrong with her is she's fed up to bloody hell with idiotic commieliberals destroying everything they touch & running out of California because they can't discern a scamming lying politician to save their lives & then repeat the insanity in the new state they move to!

[@gu3sswh075]

Frances Van Siclen vote in person to make sure they don't tamper with your vote!

[@aliale4488]

@@MsLiberty101 "commieliberals running everything" I see you've been brain washed well, just like those commies you hate. Never understood how ya'll could see everything wrong with the other parties but not your own. They all suck ass and are ruining America buddy. The common people need to stop in fighting and demand better from your government.

[@Verdigo76]

I was hoping for more GRAPHICS in this Geographic episode.