Cracks Off East Coast Could Trigger Landslides, Tsunamis

Three large cracks in the continental shelf off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina could produce landslides that would trigger tsunamis along the coasts of those heavily populated states and the lower Chesapeake Bay, geologists report in the May Geology. The team discovered the cracks while examining National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maps of the continental shelf. The group will leave Saturday morning to examine the cracks in person and to attempt to determine the potential for such landslides.