Southern Spain Mediterranean damaged devastating tsunamis in the past and can experience them again. Large boulders that can now be seen along the coast in various parts of eastern Spain bear witness to these brutal marine events. A study currently conducted with the participation of Spain reveals that: The effects of a tsunami today can be far more devastating than in the past. due to climate change and also increased urbanization.
This research published in the journal Iberian Journal of GeologyIt is detailed from some of the deposits found at Cabo Cope in Murcia, where researchers have identified a tsunami that dates to around 800 to 1,400 years ago and caused large block accumulations in this area of the Murcian coast.
Similar events have been identified on the coasts of the Balearic Islands, the Commonwealth of Valencia or Andalusia and are remnants of these events. violent tsunamis that managed to uproot large boulders and cliff fragments and drag them several meters (sometimes dozens) inland.
“Since the Murcia region may have had tectonic activity from earthquakes, we applied the methodology we developed to see if[these rock deposits]were caused by large storms or tsunamis,” said Javier Lario, professor of External Geodynamics at the Faculty. “We saw that these could be the result of a tsunami,” said Sciences of UNED and the first author of the study.
While the waves of a major storm are larger than those of a tsunami, they cannot drag these 17.7-tonne blocks four meters above sea level. The authors of the work mainly try to distinguish between these two types of phenomena.
“It is interesting to distinguish, because With climate change, it is seen that there will be an increase in large storms and even hurricanes.”, comments Lario.
Need to create evacuation plans
In the presentation of the study, which was also signed by Chris Spencer (University of West England, UK) and Teresa Bardají (University of Alcalá de Henares), cities such as: Ever since Huelva and Cádiz started creating evacuation plans.
The first author points out that it will be necessary to implement such plans in the coastal areas of the Southern Mediterranean in order to educate the population and raise awareness.
“What did we talk about? 70% of the population lives on the coast. If affected during the summer months, coastal areas have a much larger floating population. Obviously, now a tsunami would have a huge impact”, comments Lario.
In addition, The erosion and degradation of the coast by human action can greatly affect the severity of a potential tsunami.. “processes sea level rise or erosive processes on the beach and the natural protection of the coasts makes them more vulnerable in the event of a tsunami. If we lose sand or a coastal area and the water penetrates further inland, the impact will be worse when a tsunami arrives,” warns the geologist.
Thanks to these records andIt is possible to establish repetition periods that allow the authorities to be alerted. Possible phenomena such as the historic Lisbon tsunami in 1755 that devastated the Andalusian coast and subsequently killed more than 1,000 people.
Together with the Ministry of Interior, the National Geographic Institute and the General Directorate of Civil Defense, a State Tsunami Plan, where they identify tsunami flood risks that may occur on national territory.
Reference article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41513-023-00208-8
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