While some may still be reeling from the Arctic Blast that swept much of the country last week, as a rule, the UK is pretty lucky when it comes to weather extremes and occurrences of natural disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. However, one of the UK’s top scientists has warned that might not always be the case and we should brace ourselves for the possibility that one day we may be hit by a giant tidal wave that would likely cause death and destruction.
Sir David King, who once served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government and is the founder of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University, claims a mega tsunami could hit the UK 'at any time'. But before you panic too much, he gave a timescale of anytime in the next 10,000 years.
Speaking to MyLondon, the expert said the massive sea surge would be triggered by a huge landslide in the Canary Islands, which would see a "mass of rock the size of the Isle of Man" fall into the Atlantic Ocean. This event would send a wall of water several metres high smashing into the south coast of Britain, obliterating coastal towns and cities such as Brighton, Southampton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Exeter.
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Sir David also said that while these coastal destinations would be in direct line for a hit, London would also be exposed despite being more inland. He explained: “In the case of tsunamis, the shallower the waters are, the larger the wave will get. Once the tsunami passes through the English Channel and into the Thames Estuary, it will grow in size and cause all sorts of destruction in the city.”
The former Professor of Chemistry at the University of East Anglia compares what would happen in London to what happened in Lisbon in 1755. The Portuguese capital was hit by a wave up to 10 metres high following an earthquake estimated to have had a magnitude of between 8.5 and 9 on the Richter scale, killing up to 100,000 people.
As well as potentially killing a significant amount of people and making families homeless, the scientist also warns of the ecological consequences of a tsunami.
He says: “Salt water coming in from the sea could contaminate some fresh water reserves that Londoners use. There would be some ecological damage to wildlife too. On that note, the salt water would also saturate the soil around London. The change in salinity levels would mean farmers wouldn’t be able to grow crops in the area for many years afterwards, as has been seen in other tsunami-affected regions.”
He adds that although the chances of the tsunami happening in the near future might be slim, it could happen 'at any time' and Britain will need to be prepared. He says: “It could happen in 10,000 years' time, but it could also happen tomorrow.”
The scientist also encourages more education and awareness for Londoners in what to do if and when a tsunami hits. He says: “After the landslide in the Canary Islands, it would take roughly six hours for the wave to reach the UK. That might sound like a long time to give people to escape, but there are other places where people had longer to flee yet many people still died.
“What would happen in London is that everyone would get into their cars all at once to escape the city and they’d block all the roads. People wouldn’t be able to get out in time and they would essentially die in their cars.”
Sir David however does not pose the problem without a solution. He suggests London could be protected by artificially building ‘two asymmetrical islands’ in the Thames Estuary, the impact of any potential tsunami could be absorbed before the wave reaches the city.
He says: “We’ve seen cities do this elsewhere in the world, such as Singapore and Hong Kong. There would be a canal that passes between the two islands to allow ships to pass, but the islands themselves would take most of the impact of the wave and prevent it going up the Thames, saving thousands if not millions of lives.”
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