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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:06 pm Mount St. Helens Eruption Possible Within 24 Hours |
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USGS: Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours
Observatory 3 miles from volcano's base evacuated
VANCOUVER, Washington (CNN) -- Scientists warn that Mount St. Helens could erupt within 24 hours, and with more force than previously expected.
Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey issued a Level 3 Volcano Alert, indicating an eruption could occur in the next 24 hours, said Tom Pierson with the USGS. That level alert is the third of four -- with the fourth being eruption.
"There is a 50 percent chance or greater that there is going to be an eruption and a good chance that it will involve magma," Pierson said. "We're watching it very closely."
An observatory three miles from the base of the mountain was evacuated Saturday. Bumper-to-bumper traffic snaked down the road from the observatory after the order.
Scientists have been closely watching Mount St. Helens since a small eruption spewed a harmless plume of steam and ash thousands of feet into the air Friday. It was the end of a week in which the number of earthquakes near the volcano grew significantly.
One scientist described the eruption, the biggest in 18 years, as a "hiccup."
Seismic activity decreased shortly after the noon (3 p.m. ET) eruption, but picked up again within hours. Peter Frenzen, a scientist with the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, said a 2.0 magnitude earthquake was detected.
A small explosion was detected on the south side of the volcano's lava dome, where cracks had been detected in a glacier, said John Major of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Scientists said the presence of magma could indicate the potential for a more serious eruption.
Molten rock is called magma before reaching the surface, where it is called lava.
Scientists had been predicting a minor eruption after swarms of small earthquakes were detected, and the mountain's volcanic dome shifted three inches since Monday.
In anticipation of an eruption, the mountain was closed to hikers, and the media and sightseers gathered at a visitors center 5 miles away.
Friday's eruption was a mere sideshow in comparison to the cataclysmic eruption May 18, 1980, which blew off more than 1,000 feet from the top of the mountain. That eruption killed 57 people, left deep piles of ash hundreds of miles away and caused $3 billion in damage.
After that disaster, small eruptions continued at Mount St. Helens until 1986, when the volcano finally went quiet. Major said Friday's eruption was comparable to the minor eruptions seen during that period.
Mount St. Helens is about 50 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon.
CNN's Kimberly Osias contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/02/mount.st.helens/index.
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun Oct 03, 2004 1:37 pm |
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That really, really sucks
-------signature-------
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
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