Submarine landslides are turbidity currents and consist of water saturated sediments flowing downslope . An example occurred during the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake that struck the continental slope off the coast of Newfoundland . Minutes later , transatlantic telephone cables began breaking sequentially , farther and farther downslope , away from the epicenter . Twelve cables were snapped in a total of 28 places . Exact times and locations were recorded for each break . Investigators suggested that a 60-mile-per-hour ( 100 km/h ) submarine landslide or turbidity current of water saturated sediments swept 400 miles ( 600 km ) down the continental slope from the earthquake 's epicenter , snapping the cables as it passed
1929 Grand Banks earthquake
1929 Grand Banks earthquake
Soil liquefaction