Medieval Humans Partly Caused Two Catastrophic Lake Tsunamis, And We Could Easily Do It Again, Scientists Warn
I keep thinking about how we picture medieval people as passive victims of nature, huddled against storms and floods they couldn't have caused. This study flips that image. Their own actions, probably mining or earthmoving near the water, loaded the dice and the lake rolled tsunamis back at them. That's a humbling detail because it means the landscape we live on is partly a record of our own bad decisions.
The part that worries me is the parallel to today. We move far more earth than any medieval settlement ever did, and we do it right next to lakes, reservoirs and coastlines. A slope that looks stable can be quietly waiting for the wrong nudge, and our machinery is very good at providing nudges.
I'd want to know which lakes these were and exactly what activity tipped them over, because the difference between a quarry collapse and a shoreline excavation changes how I'd think about risk. But the core lesson stands on its own. Nature doesn't need us to cause disasters, it just accepts our help.