Megathrust quakes can lift coasts by meters in a single rupture
In a megathrust earthquake, one tectonic plate suddenly lurches beneath another, and coastal land can rise or drop by meters within seconds as the locked interface finally slips.
That abrupt seafloor motion can shove the ocean into a tsunami while inland areas shake for minutes. Historic events along Cascadia, Chile, Japan, and Sumatra show how plate boundaries rewrite shorelines overnight.
A coastline is not fixed furniture. Megathrust quakes prove Earth’s surface can step up or down in one violent edit — and the sea answers immediately.
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