Netflix has recently introduced a slew of thrilling TV shows to provide a counterbalance to the seasonal cheer that some find overwhelming. Among these are a series praised as a ‘masterpiece’ with an almost flawless Rotten Tomatoes rating, and a comforting classic that viewers have dubbed ‘the best thing you’ll ever watch.’
However, it’s a Norwegian miniseries that has captured global attention, climbing to the top of Netflix’s charts this week as viewers binge-watch it in a single day.
The show, titled La Palma, is a four-part miniseries that Netflix subscribers have streamed for more than 40 million hours. Released on December 12, the series follows a family vacationing on the Canary Island of La Palma, only to have their trip disrupted by alarming volcanic activity that leads to a massive tsunami.
The family, played by Alma Günther, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, and Anders Baasmo, faces a struggle for survival amid ash clouds, lava, and towering waves.
Though fictional, the series is inspired by the plausible scenario of a Manhattan-sized chunk breaking off La Palma’s Cumbre Vieja volcano and falling into the Atlantic Ocean, potentially creating a giant tsunami that could reach the US east coast.
This frightening hypothesis was first suggested by Steven N. Ward and Simon Day in a 2001 paper. The series’ depiction of giant 82-foot waves has sparked considerable discussion.
Viewers have taken to social media to scrutinize the ‘math’ behind such a massive wave and the feasibility of surviving such a disaster.
It appears that such a wave is unlikely to occur, as newer research has debunked the 2001 theory.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) notes that the “mega-tsunami” scenario requires ‘a single, coherent, massive collapse block’—the Manhattan-sized volcano chunk—to achieve ‘a high velocity very quickly.’
However, ocean floor mapping around the Canary Islands suggests that ‘collapses instead occur in incremental or piecemeal fashion.’
USGS further clarifies: “Additionally, geomorphologists found through slope stability analysis that the potential collapse volume is much smaller than initially simulated in the 2001 paper.”
With advancements in tsunami modeling technology, it is now believed that an 82-foot wave hitting the US east coast is improbable.
A ‘worst-case scenario’ would likely result in a wave between three and seven feet, which the USGS states would still be ‘hazardous, but similar to common storm surge.’
La Palma is currently available for streaming on Netflix.