American scientists predict a devastating tsunami in the Red Sea. According to them, a 500-year-old disaster may repeat itself, Dip.org.ua reports with reference to the research institute Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
Geologist Sam Purkis spent four weeks aboard the research vessel OceanXplorer. During the expedition, he noticed a striking crack in the seabed, uncharacteristic of the region. The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“I immediately knew that what we saw was the result of some kind of geological force that broke through the seabed,” Purkis said.
The scientist took rock samples. As it turned out, the crack was formed after a landslide that occurred 500 years ago. Judging by the map attached by experts, the crack is located opposite the coast of the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh.
The geologist warned that similar shifts in the seabed could trigger another devastating tsunami in the bay. The territories of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel, will be in immediate danger.
“All it takes is a little shaking in the wrong place and the whole wall can collapse, resulting in a much bigger tsunami than 500 years ago.
The regions of Egypt and Saudi Arabia located here are rapidly urbanizing. It is necessary to detect potential risks in time to avoid a future catastrophe,” the scientist explained.
The specialist proposes to carry out work on the creation of early warning systems in order to detect impending tsunamis in time and predict earthquakes.