BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A garden island in the Atlantic may also be the epicenter for a wave of disaster. We are talking about weather in a major way, here. ITN's Tim Wilcox is watching that for us.</s>TIM WILCOX, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): Huge tidal waves crashing into land reveal the power and destruction water can wreak on people and property. This one in China last year would be dwarfed by the monster wave, or megatsunami, which could hit Britain and the rest of the world. The center of the disaster would be here in the Canary Islands, a favorite holiday destination for millions, but is home to the highly unstable Cumbre Vieja, potentially a geological time bomb. Scientists predict that a future volcanic eruption here could cause a gigantic piece of rock, twice the size of the Isle of Man, to break off and fall into the sea. It would hit the water at over 200 miles and hour and disintegrate. This would create a dome of water almost 3,000 feet high and several miles wide, which would collapse and set off the tidal wave. Traveling at 500 miles an hour, it would eventually hit Britain's southwest coastline some six hours later with waves of 40 feet. We would escape the worst. But parts of Florida and the Caribbean would be flattened.</s>SIMON DAY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON: It's a bit like the hazard presented by very large volcanic eruptions or even by asteroid impacts. Those are even rarer than what we're talking about here, but they have potentially even greater consequences.</s>WILCOX: The good news for the inhabitants of West Country fishing villages is that the disaster is not imminent. The report's authors said it might not happen for centuries, adding that when it does, there should be plenty of warning. Tim Wilcox, ITN.
Scientists Predict Canary Islands Will One Day Be the Center of a Megatsunami