Patrick Corcoran, Oregon Sea Grant’s coastal hazards specialist and an expert on coastal earthquake and tsunami preparedness in the Pacific Northwest, appears on tonight’s edition of the PBS Newshour as part of a piece titled “Risky Business in the Pacific Northwest.”

The report, by Newshour’s Tom Bearden reports on efforts to better understand liquefaction, a phenomenon that causes sandy soils to turn to liquid when a powerful earthquake strikes.  Liquefaction can cause untold damage and devastation, and Bearden talks about how Oregon scientists are trying to learn more about what causes it, and what happens:

Miss it on TV? Here’s the video:

Watch Risky Business in the Northwest on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.