To answer the original question: taking note of the shielding effect of Ireland we would
say the eastern and western coasts are about equal in length. We would anticipate a
major marine event much more likely to occur in the Atlantic to the southwest instead of
in the North Sea by virtue of simply more area. However, fond as we are of Liverpool, the
economic damage from a North Sea tsunami would be worse. In terms of TEUs we have
Felixstowe (east of London) 3.1 million; Southampton (south coast) 1.4 million and
Liverpool 600,000. In terms of metric tons of cargo we have Grimsby and Immingham 55
million (east coast); London 46 million (east coast); Milford Haven 39 million (west
coast); Tees and Hartlepool 39 million (east coast); Tillbury 37 million (east coast);
Southampton 37 million (south coast) and Liverpool 30 million (west coast). The
Chunnel looks to be equally threatened by an event in either region - a great deal depends
on location.