David King, former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, has warned of the potential risk of a massive tsunami hitting coastal cities across the kingdom at any time, arriving just six hours after a warning. He explained that any landslide in the Canary Islands could produce a massive wall of water striking the UK. He noted, "A tsunami several meters high will be sent towards the UK, placing locations like Brighton, Southampton, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Exeter, and London in its path."
He continued, "This may seem like a long time to escape, but there are places where people had longer to flee, and still many died. What will happen in London is that everyone will get into their cars to escape the city, and all the roads will be closed." King expressed concern about the outcome: "People will not be able to get out in time and will essentially die in their cars. In the event of a tsunami, the shallower the water, the bigger the wave becomes. Once the tsunami passes through the English Channel into the Thames estuary, its size will increase, causing devastation in the city. It could happen in 10,000 years, but it could also happen tomorrow."
The former chemistry professor at the University of East Anglia compares what could happen in London to the events in Lisbon in 1755, when the Portuguese capital faced a wave reaching up to 10 meters following an earthquake estimated to be between 8.5 and 9 on the Richter scale, resulting in the deaths of up to 100,000 people.
