Tsunami risk in Seattle is a real thing

Years ago, when I was a kid, I remember the Seattle earthquake of 1965. It freaked me out. I remember the house shaking and standing inside a doorway, which is what they told us what to do back in the day. 

Over the years I haven't thought much about it, but apparently Seattle is at risk for other earthquake issues because of the “Seattle fault line”.  

According to en.wikipedia.org,
‘The Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east–west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90. The Seattle Fault was first recognized as a significant seismic hazard in 1992’ 

To be honest, I had not really thought about the possibility of a tsunami in the Seattle area until my sister brought it to my attention yesterday. There is a real possibility that something like this could happen under the right circumstances, and it's a little scary. If you live down by the water in the Seattle or area, you have a legitimate reason for concern. 

According to cnn.com,
‘A simulation released by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) shows the impact of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on the Seattle Fault.
“Tsunami waves could be as high as 42 feet at the Seattle Great Wheel and will reach inland as far as Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park,” Washington State DNR said in a tweet Thursday.’  

Honestly, it has been a while since we've had an earthquake caused by that Seattle fault line almost 1100 years ago. The impact of the resulting tsunami would go far beyond Seattle. Low lying parts of Bellingham would find itself under 10 to 11 feet of water. Simulations show that the South Sound would not be as hard hit with maybe 3 1/2 feet of water. 

The simulation you see above unfortunately does not have audio, but it sure points out that if an earthquake were to occur on the Seattle fault, the impact of a tsunami would be tremendous. One of the things that was pointed out to me is what could happen if the tsunami wave hit a harbor. If the opening of the harbor was big enough, the wave would flow in and then the harbor would act like a bathtub, with the wave sloshing back and forth from side to side several times before washing back out again. The possible destruction of this lower line would be multiplied several times. 

The study was prepared by geologists within the Washington Geological Survey division of DNR. 

This particular type of earthquake and the resulting tsunami would be a disaster for anyone who lived near the water on the coastline of Puget Sound. It's not a worry for me, I live in Wenatchee, but my older sister Mary has a home in Edmonds. I'm not sure she would be safe from a 45-foot-tall wall of water. I hope so. 

Watch the simulations and ask yourself, am I OK?
Simulation shows tsunami waves as high as 42 feet could hit Seattle in minutes should a major earthquake occur on the Seattle Fault | CNN
New tsunami maps show how water could reach Seattle, Everett, Tacoma after an earthquake | king5.com
Tsunamis and Seiches - Emergency Management | seattle.gov