A long-feared monster earthquake off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington could cause some areas to sink by more than 6 feet, dramatically heightening the risk of flooding.

A major earthquake may strike the Pacific Northwest region resulting in sinking the coastal land by almost seven feet, forcing people to face severe flooding in the area, as per a recent study. The lead author suggests the disaster could be "on the scale of" what happened in 2004 in Sumatra and in 2011 in Japan.

The Cascadia subduction zone could pose a major threat to the West Coast if a high magnitude earthquake were to occur, flooding coastal regions.