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These earthquakes weren\u2019t large enough to trigger a tsunami, which typically requires a more significant seismic event, such as a magnitude 7 earthquake. Nevertheless, Stephan Grilli, the former chair of ocean engineering, in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Engineering, points out that just because the East Coast doesn\u2019t regularly see earthquakes that size doesn\u2019t mean it eliminates the risk for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, the East Coast is regularly hit by miniscule tsunamis \u2013 about 20 a year \u2013 many of which go unnoticed, said Grilli. While earthquakes are commonly associated with tsunamis, Grilli explains that seismic activity can cause tsunamis, along with underwater landslides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sediment from the Hudson River or Chesapeake Bay can accumulate offshore. If that sediment is nudged off the eastern part of the continental shelf into the abyss of the Atlantic Ocean, it has the potential to trigger a tsunami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no warning system in place for landslide-induced tsunamis right now,\u201d said Grilli. \u201cThis is one very, very dangerous potential source of tsunamis on the East Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grilli and a colleague who\u2019s an emergency manager in Massachusetts is funded by the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. The program splits the U.S. into several regions, with the East Coast being one. The program focuses on researching the potential impacts of a major tsunami and how to mitigate the risks in the 14 states from Florida to Maine most vulnerable to such an event, which includes Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grilli and his colleague are not tasked with predicting tsunamis and where they\u2019ll happen. It\u2019s impossible to predict when one will form. Instead, their job deals with assessing outcomes and readiness, such as inundation and the potential economic impact and how cities along the Eastern Seaboard can improve preparedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery year, the West Coast could face up to $200 million in damages if a major tsunami were to hit. On the East Coast it’s $160 million,\u201d said Grilli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major earthquake, like the one off the coast of Puerto Rico in 2020, that registered as a 6.4 magnitude could generate a tsunami that reaches New England in about seven hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the deep ocean, a tsunami moves at about the speed of a jetliner but only grows about a foot high,\u201d said Grilli. \u201cWhen it gets to the shelf, it slows down, but as a result, it grows in height.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most cities on the East Coast have an emergency plan for more common natural disasters like nor\u2019easters or hurricanes. Though less frequent, major tsunamis could have far more devastating consequences. Grilli notes that the rarity of tsunamis on the East Coast only helps underscore the importance of planning and preparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program Grilli has examined strategies implemented on the West Coast to help cities prepare for the worst-case scenario. Some strategies included establishing alert systems, creating designated evacuation routes and areas, reinforcing critical infrastructure like power plants, and even relocating vulnerable buildings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Oregon, they realized that their main high school was in an exposed place right in a tsunami zone. They did crowdfunding and got $100 million to move the school to the top of a hill,\u201d said Grilli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For those on the East Coast, Grilli advises taking simple yet effective precautions, such as reviewing flood maps to assess potential risks, creating an emergency plan, and ensuring that evacuation routes lead to higher ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 29, 2025 \u2013 On Jan. 27, an earthquake measuring 3.8 in magnitude shook parts of New England. Its epicenter was near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, though the tremor was felt in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. While the eastern United States doesn\u2019t sit along major tectonic plate fault lines like the West […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":99965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1905],"class_list":["post-99964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99964"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99970,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99964\/revisions\/99970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}