Cumbre Vieja volcano: The dormant threat in Spain that could devastate the US east coast with a megatsunami

The collapse of a portion of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, on the Spanish island of La Palma, could trigger a megatsunami capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States, warned volcanologist Bill McGuire in an article published in BBC Science Focus.

The concern centers on its western flank, which partially detached during an eruption in 1949. According to the scientist, his team determined in the 1990s that this mass of rock, comprising hundreds of cubic kilometers, was moving toward the sea at a rate of perhaps one or two centimeters per year. McGuire predicts that this section of the flank will eventually collapse into the North Atlantic, triggering a megatsunami.

 In the worst-case scenario according to one of the models cited, the collapse would generate waves hundreds of meters high that would devastate the coasts of La Palma and the neighboring islands. Waves of about 20 meters would reach Florida just nine hours later, leaving little time for a mass evacuation. Other estimates suggest waves roughly half that height upon reaching the U.S. East Coast.

However, the extent of the destruction and the likelihood of devastating waves reaching North America remain a subject of scientific debate.

McGuire is also unable to specify when such a collapse might occur. While he considers it a potentially catastrophic event, he acknowledges that "it could well happen centuries or even millennia from now."