A catastrophic megatsunami could be generated by an unstable volcano in Spain's Canary Islands, with the potential to reach the US East Coast within hours, according to volcanologist Professor Bill McGuire.
McGuire, who has been monitoring the Cumbre Vieja volcano, warned in an article for BBC Science Focus that a significant portion of the volcano's flank could collapse into the sea. This collapse would displace a massive volume of water, potentially creating waves up to 65 feet high.
His computer simulations suggest that such waves could travel across the Atlantic at jetliner speeds and impact the eastern seaboard of the United States in approximately nine hours. Evidence for the trans-Atlantic reach of ancient tsunamis from the Canary Islands includes large boulders found on coastlines in the Bahamas, which geologists believe were carried there by prehistoric waves from flank collapses.
However, experts emphasize that such a disaster is not imminent. McGuire himself stated that while he has no doubt it would be a cataclysmic event, the timing is uncertain and could be centuries or even millennia away. The exact timing of such a flank collapse remains an open scientific question.
This warning comes amid ongoing volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, where the Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting in September 2021, causing significant destruction on the island of La Palma.