One day within the next hundred years or so, a magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 earthquake will occur about forty miles off the coast of Washington, probably just south of the LaPush area. That quake, roughly 3000 times more powerful than the 2001 Nisqually quake, will trigger a massive movement along the entire Cascadia Trench, a distance of some 500 to 600 miles between southern Oregon and northern British Columbia. The ground will shake violently for a full ten minutes and be felt over a very large area. Forces of over 1 G may make people and objects “weightless” at times, bouncing them into the air.

During those ten terrifying minutes, the northern Olympic Peninsula will lurch toward the southwest a distance of between 15 to 45 feet and slump downward between 5 and 20 feet in one fell swoop. Every road and structure within 60 miles of the Washington coast will either be destroyed or severely damaged, and massive landslides will occur across the entire region. Many seaside towns, roads and structures will find themselves re-situated far below sea level, including Highway 112. But unfortunately, that won’t be noticeable right away.

You see, at the same time we are slumping downward and moving southwest, thousands of square miles of seafloor off the Washington coast will instantly rise anywhere between 10 and 50 feet, generating a tsunami that will rival- or surpass- the tsunami that devastated the Indian Ocean basin in December, 2004. Within just a few minutes of the quake, the ocean will recede along the Washington coast, exposing seafloor never seen before. Minutes after that dramatic draw down, a massive tsunami up to 75 feet high will smash into the coast, and run up in some locations may even exceed 100 feet. The giant waves will continue for hours. Destruction will be total in low-lying areas like Ocean Shores, Grays Harbor, Aberdeen and Westport.

Further north, the tsunami will hit the B.C. coast within the hour and will enter the Strait, causing run up in Sekiu and Clallam Bay of somewhere between 10 and 40 feet. Since the entire region slumped downward from the quake, the effect will be amplified even further. The tsunami will run far up the Hoko and Sekiu River valleys, will smash through most of lower Sekiu, will inundate Clallam Bay as far the high school, and will travel even further up the Clallam River. A few minutes later, the Pysht area will be hit, and shortly thereafter, Ediz Hook and much of downtown Port Angeles will be inundated. Places like Bellingham, Whidbey Island and Seattle will also be hit in a short time. Thousands would be killed, ten of thousands more missing. Damage would be in the billions of dollars, and the entire economy of the Pacific Northwest will be destroyed, all within an hour.

Northern California will be hit within two hours. The tsunami will roll up the west coast of Canada and crash into mainland Alaska within four hours. After six hours, the tsunami will hit Hawaii, and after ten hours, the tsunami will reach Japan. After fourteen hours, both New Guinea and the Phillipines will be hit, followed shortly thereafter by Australia and New Zealand. Even with timely warnings, thousands more would be killed, and tens of billions of dollars in damage would be inflicted throughout the Pacific Ocean basin.

One can hardly imagine such devastation, but remember; it’s not a matter of if this happens, it’s a matter of when.

Remember the Golden Rule: if you can see the tsunami approach, it’s already too late for you. Don’t hesitate: go to higher ground IMMEDIATELY following an earthquake!