Thread by @TimeOutLondon

From earthquakes to future pandemics, we speak to the UK's doom and gloom experts about how the capital will fade to black 🔥🇬🇧☄️

timeout.com/london/news/ho…

The end is nigh! Well, maybe not nigh but you could be forgiven for thinking so. In the wake of a pandemic, severe flash flooding and the latest IPCC report, our own demise is more on our minds than ever. It’s got us thinking. How will London end? Why will it end? And when?

🔴Swallowed by an earthquake

The UK experiences earth tremors regularly. According to the British Geological Survey, there’s an earthquake, on average, every few days. But if we’re talking ‘significant’ earthquakes (those above 4.0 magnitude), the average is less than one a year

David Alexander, professor of risk and disaster reduction at @ucl says:

‘There are some sensitive processes that could be damaged by them – computer-related mainly – or other things connected with critical infrastructure...that’s water supply, food supply, banking'

🔴Engulfed by volcanic lava

There are plenty of extinct volcanoes in the UK, from the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland to Warboys in Cambridgeshire.

The closest active volcanoes to London are Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, and Iceland’s Öræfajökull

Lee Miles, professor of crisis and disaster management at @bournemouthuni:

‘Climate change is likely to lead to more instability...which will impact the transfer of ash and will affect the quality of air, water supplies and people’s way of life'

🔴Falling prey to a pandemic

We know, we know, and probably don’t need reminding. London is a diverse, densely populated global transport hub. While that openness is part of what makes the capital so exciting and great, it also left it exposed to Covid-19

Professor Miles:

‘The whole economy is built on an open structure and ethos. It does make us highly vulnerable to infectious diseases.’

‘I don’t think Londoners have learned a thing. And if it happens again we will probably face the same challenges in many areas'

🔴Obliterated by an asteroid

It’s definitely one of the more cinematic ways to go. Small asteroids (anything under 30 metres) enter the atmosphere every year.

The impact of a 140 metre asteroid could destroy a country. A 1,000-metre one might destroy civilisation itself

Luckily, the bigger the 'roid, the lower the chance of it hitting us. These days, apparently Nasa can divert them with laser beams and nuclear bombs.

Miles:

‘If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. It's one of those cataclysmic events. It doesn’t matter where you run'

🔴Microwaved by a solar storm

A solar flare, a brief eruption of high-energy radiation from the sun, could knock out power and, similar to an earthquake, result in domino effects from disrupted satellites, blow transformers and paralyse medical, banking and legal systems

Miles:

‘Can you imagine London having no power, no communication, no mobile phone networks...There would be a kind of mental meltdown'

We’d likely get 15 to 24 hours’ notice for a significant solar flare – just enough time to head to Sainsbury’s to battle over batteries

🔴Deluged by floodwater

Alexander:

‘The Environment Agency suggested in a report that about a third of UK flood defences are badly maintained and inadequate...You only need one tiny bit of the flood defences to fail and everything behind that then fills up with water'

From Walthamstow to Camberwell, plenty of London has found itself underwater.

The Thames Barrier is expected to work for at least another few decades. But when high sea levels, tidal surges and storms coincide there’s nowhere for the water to go