Londoners have been warned that a “mega tsunami” could strike at “any time” and the giant tidal wave will cause destruction and death.
The UK’s top scientist said that more must be done to protect London and is urging for two artificial islands to be built on the Thames Estuary which will help to protect the capital.
He explained that the tsunami would be triggered by an enormous landslide in the Canary Islands would will see a “mass of rock the size of the Isle of Man” which would collapse into the Atlantic Ocean.
This would then send a tidal wave of water which will travel at speed and hit the south coast which will strike Brighton, Portsmouth, Exeter, Bournemouth and Southampton.
There is a real risk that the island of La Palma could see a landslide that would create a tsunami and the volcanic islands frequently have large landslides which has even been documented in Hawaii.
The former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government and the founder of the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University, Sir David King told MyLondon that this could happen “at any time.”
London would take a direct hit from the “mega tsunami” and warned that Londoners would “not be able to get out in time and they would essentially die in their cars.”
Sir David said, “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.”
Warning of an ecological disaster he explained, “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.”
Sir David said he is encouraging education and awareness as to what to do if and when a tsunami hits, which could have in “10,000 years time, but it could also happen tomorrow.”
He said, “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.”
The UK’s top scientist warned, “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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