Experts caution that the Cascadia Subduction Zone — a 700-mile long fault stretching from Northern California to British Columbia — has the potential to produce a magnitude 9 quake and a mega-tsunami with waves possibly surpassing 1,000 feet at its origin, with 30-100 foot walls of water reaching Washington, Oregon, and Northern California in as little as 15 minutes. Geological evidence indicates that this zone ruptures approximately every 240 years, and the last significant occurrence was in 1700 — meaning it is now 326 years overdue. FEMA forecasts predict 10,000 fatalities in Oregon within the initial hours of such an incident.
