The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) authorized former governor Andrew Cuomo’s $5 million book deal without performing the usual scrutiny of its conditions.
The iconic Seattle Great Wheel would be surrounded by 42-foot waves that would also be felt as far inland as Lumen Field, the stadium where the Seattle Seahawks play, and T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.
The Tacoma port, which is located 30 miles south of the city center, might see waves that extended up to three miles inland.
The computational simulations, according to Seattle’s mayor Bruce Harrell, are useful for planning for natural disasters.
In order to examine the data, comprehend risks and forecasts, and better prepare for upcoming calamities, he stated, “Our ultimate responsibility as an administration is to keep our inhabitants safe.”
While we also develop our infrastructure and create a resilient city for the present and the future, “We will continue to ensure that our Office of Emergency Management – and all our departments – are best ready to respond to emergencies and natural disasters.”
The Puget Sound Lowland is crossed by the Seattle fault, a collection of many shallow east-west thrust faults that run through Seattle.
The Cascadia subduction zone, which extends over 700 miles from Cape Mendocino, California, through Oregon and Washington, and ends near Vancouver Island, Canada, is more dynamic than the fault.
It is also less well-known and researched than the longest fault in the world, the San Andreas fault in California. It stretches more than 800 miles from the Salton Sea to Cape Mendocino and is located in the rift between the Pacific and North American plates. On the Pacific Plate are San Diego, Los Angeles, and Big Sur, whereas on the North American Plate are San Francisco, Sacramento, and the Sierra Nevada.
But it is capable of unleashing earthquakes with devastating force.
The last known earthquake on the Seattle fault occurred about 1,100 years ago.
However, geologic evidence shows five additional earthquakes of an estimated magnitude 6.5 occurred within the Seattle Fault zone during the last 3,500 years.
Hilary Franz, commissioner of public lands, said people should not be fooled by the Seattle fault’s comparative anonymity.
‘Most often, when we think of tsunamis, we think of our outer coast and communities along the Pacific Ocean,’ she said.
‘But there’s a long history of earthquakes on faults in the Puget Sound.
‘While the history of earthquakes and tsunamis along the Seattle Fault is less frequent than the Cascadia subduction zone, the impacts could be massive.
‘That’s why it’s critical these communities have the information they need to prepare and respond.’
Maximilian Dixon, the hazards and outreach program supervisor for the Washington Emergency Management Division, said local residents should formulate a plan.
‘Although the chances of this happening in our lifetime is low, it’s important for families to get prepared now,’ he said.
‘The ground shaking will be your warning that a tsunami may be on the way.
‘ Make sure you know where the closest high ground is and the quickest route to get there. Get signed up for tsunami and local alerts.’