A 100-to-300-foot wall of water crashing into New York City, Florida, and the entire East Coast sounds like the plot of a disaster movie.
In fact, it was a TV show on Netflix from 2024 called La Palma, and Hollywood has been capitalizing on the “big one” catastrophe scenario for decades. But lately, it’s been a topic in real-life, albeit this time by armchair, alarmist social media creators.
The theory centers on La Palma, a volcanic island in Spain’s Canary Islands. According to a widely publicized 2001 study, a catastrophic collapse of part of the island could trigger a massive Atlantic Ocean tsunami capable of sending waves as high as 80 feet (some say much bigger) toward the eastern shores of North and South America. It would, in theory, devastate everything – including the millions of people on the U.S. eastern seaboard.
It’s a terrifying scenario, for sure.
The problem? Most scientists no longer believe it’s valid.
In a detailed review of the hypothesis, the U.S. Geological Survey says the original model relied on a key assumption that doesn’t match what geologists have since learned about volcanic island collapses. The theory assumed a single, massive chunk of the island would suddenly slide into the ocean at high speed, generating a gigantic wave. More recent research suggests these collapses occur in smaller, incremental stages rather than one catastrophic event.
The USGS notes that improved tsunami modeling has also changed the picture dramatically. New simulations indicate that even a worst-case collapse scenario would likely produce waves on the East Coast in the range of roughly 3 to 7 feet—not 80 feet, or 100-to-300-foot as the social media “scientist” says in the video above.
Hazardous? Absolutely. Civilization-ending? Not even close. And plus, the science shows that this world-shattering disaster is highly unlikely.
Per the USGS: “Collapses of Canary Island volcanoes are rare, occurring on timescales of hundreds of thousands of years, and should be preceded by signs of flank instability: increases in earthquakes and ground surface deformation.
“Canary Island volcanoes also erupt regularly—La Palma last erupted in 1971 and 1949—and slope stability analyses conducted at La Palma indicate that the structure is stable. The volcano would have to grow significantly before a collapse was likely.”
That’s not to say volcano-generated tsunamis aren’t real.
The USGS points to the 1883 eruption of the volcano 1883 Krakatau Eruption, which generated a deadly local tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people. More recently, a supposed 1,500-foot mega-tsunami hit Alaska – the second largest ever.
Related: 1,500ft Mega-Tsunami Hit Alaska, Second Largest Ever (Video)
For all of us, it’s a humble reminder of the ocean’s incredible power and the ease with which dramatic theories can spread online. Mega-tsunamis make for attention-grabbing headlines, but according to the USGS, the infamous Canary Islands scenario simply “doesn’t carry water.”
Pun most definitely intended; nice one, USGS.
That doesn’t mean the Atlantic is risk-free. It just means East Coast surfers probably don’t need to start paddling for the Rockies anytime soon.
Related: Catastrophic Mega-Tsunami Will Devastate West Coast, Experts Warn
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