Researchers are expressing renewed concern regarding the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 700-mile fault line situated off the US West Coast that has not experienced a major rupture in centuries. A potential magnitude 9.0+ earthquake could unleash tsunami waves reaching heights of 1,000 feet, arriving in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco in less than 20 minutes, endangering over 30 million individuals in the affected area. Geologists caution that the existing evacuation measures are severely lacking, and there is currently no federal early-warning system available.
