Understanding Risk To Seattle's High-rise Buildings From A Giant Cascadian Earthquake

What is the risk to high-rise buildings in Seattle from a giant earthquake? The Cascadia subduction zone is likely to produce the strongest shaking experienced in the lower 48 states. Although seismic activity in the Pacific Northwest has been relatively low in the past two centuries, there is a growing consensus that this fault zone ruptures in giant earthquakes (magnitude exceeding 9); the last rupture is inferred to have occurred in 1700.