BREAKING
NEWS: Important!
6:45
p.m.
A
new breakout swarm of quakes is now occurring in the
Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa.
The volcanic island where the swarm is occurring is call
La Palma. There have been about 140 quakes over the
past 24 hours. While magnitudes are relatively low in the
M2.0-3.0 range, the high number of quakes is
significant. If the swarm continues, it could be an
indicator that magma is rising that could culminate in a
major earthquake and volcanic eruption.
Quake Map
See
INTERACTIVE MAPS VIEW (Zoom in close to see)
Scientists
have theorized that the island could split in two at some
near future event because of a major deep fault that runs
through the volcano. If this were to occur, there would be
a large underwater landslide on the west side of the
island that would create a major tsunami that within a
short time would impact the east coast of the
U.S., the Caribbean islands, and the
northeastern coast of South America,
including Brazil.
The
scientific calculations suggest a
tsunami wave would move west cross the Atlantic
ocean with waves heights reaching 10-26 ft. along the
entire east coast of the
U.S. from Florida to New England.
The
good news is that it would take approximately
9 hours to reach the east coast, giving most areas
enough time to evacuate ahead of the
tsunami waves.
The
bad news is that scientists have often underestimated
tsunami wave heights by a large margin in recent years.
I
continue to monitor this swarm with a watchful eye. It may
fizzle out in the next few hours or accelerate, but it has
been pounding all day long so far. Time will tell.
If
you live ion the east coast of the
U.S., you should have your go-bag in your car, your
vehicle fueled, and know your evacuation routes. Pay
attention to these updates and local
ALERTS. There won't be time to get in line at the
gas station or stock up on food once the evacuation orders
go out, you'll need to get out ahead of the crush. Don't
wait for official evacuation orders if you value your
family's safety. Such notices often come far too late.
In
the time it takes to write this, more quakes have struck
the island and the magnitudes are rising.
Watch
for updates.
The
Watchman