The Earthquake That Will Devastate Seattle - The New Yorker

'The Worst Natural Disaster In The History Of North America' Could Happen This Century
Seattle skyline as seen from Air Force One with President Barack Obama aboard, after departure at King County International airport, , Thursday, May 10, 2012, in Seattle. Obama traveled to the West Coast for a series of democratic party fundraisers. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Seattle skyline as seen from Air Force One with President Barack Obama aboard, after departure at King County International airport, , Thursday, May 10, 2012, in Seattle. Obama traveled to the West Coast for a series of democratic party fundraisers. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

In the Pacific Northwest, everything west of Interstate 5 covers some hundred and forty thousand square miles, including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Salem (the capital city of Oregon), Olympia (the capital of Washington), and some seven million people. When the next full-margin rupture happens, that region will suffer the worst natural disaster in the history of North America.

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