‘100% Chance’ Tsunami Warning Haunts the Mediterranean, Scientists Say

Per the prediction from UNESCO:

“There is a 100% chance of a tsunami of at least 1 meter in height occurring in the Mediterranean in the next 30-50 years.

“As a densely populated coastal area with seismic and volcanic activity-prone areas, the risk posed by both small and destructive tsunamis in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and its connected seas like the Mediterranean, North, Baltic, and Black seas must be faced head-on.”

But some consider that height estimate to be quite conservative. For example, per the video shown above, should the highly-active Mount Etna in Italy collapse and send untold masses of land into the sea, the resulting tsunami could be massive.

The YouTuber writes:

“The volcano sits on soft, clay-rich sediments that slope toward the Mediterranean. Over thousands of years, the growing weight of the volcanic structure has begun pulling the entire southeastern flank downhill toward the sea. Underwater measurements show that the seafloor itself is moving together with the mountain above it.

“And this raises a disturbing question. What happens if the sliding flank suddenly accelerates?”

It’s also not the first tsunami to hit the region in modern times, although the last one was quite a few years ago. Per Britannica:

"One of the most destructive tsunamis in antiquity took place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea on July 21, 365 ce. A fault slip in the subduction zone beneath the island of Crete produced an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.0–8.5, which was powerful enough to raise parts of the western third of the island up to 10 metres (33 feet).”