The CSIC confirms the real threat of a tsunami in Spain: these are the regions that it would affect

In recent years, the Cádiz authorities have confirmed that there is an evacuation plan for the city in the event of a tidal wave. A measure that could sound like science fiction, but that the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has been responsible for giving more validity. All after confirming the real risk of a tsunami that would affect Spain and its surroundings.

The Averroes fault could well be a tectonic enclave in the coming years that would remain marked for bad in the memory of the Spanish. A fracture in the land that covers the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in the Alboran Sea, and which could be the cause of a tsunami in the coming years.

That yes, without giving a specific date, because these events can be predicted but not with total accuracy, the earthquake would cause waves of up to six meters high on the Spanish coast. A phenomenon, preceded by a magnitude of scale 7 that would make these waves reach land in half an hour (between 21 and 35 minutes).

The entire southeastern coast would be devastated by the consequences of the wave

With two main branches, if this event occurs, both the south of Spain and the north of Morocco would be affected, flooding enclaves of Malaga, Granada or Cádiz as well as Ceuta or Melilla. A catastrophic event never seen before in Spain (the Lorca earthquake in 2011 was on a 3.9 scale), which could cause irreparable human and environmental damage.

For this reason, the CSIC calls for a plan in order to “improve planning measures aimed at mitigating the impact of a possible tsunami”. “Giant waves can pose a threat to coastal populations, damage marine and terrestrial infrastructure, and cause an economic and environmental crisis,” the study said.

“These are episodes too fast for current early warning systems to work successfully”

To reach this conclusion, the researchers have taken into account the activity of the Averroes fault in the last 124,000 years. With a mathematical model of the deformation of the sea floor, the team has calculated the behavior of the water masses of the Alboran Sea in the event of a new seismic episode in the fault, making it clear that the activity is greater than previously thought.

“These are episodes too fast for the current early warning systems to work successfully,” the investigation has remarked to confirm the veracity of the fact but without confirming the exact date. For this reason, the plan of the city of Cádiz to evacuate as much of the population as possible and prevent a tidal wave like the one that already devastated part of the town in 1755 gains more strength.