Mt St Helens, a volcano in Washington State, had a huge eruption on May 18, 1980. The damages were over a billion dollars, and 57 individuals lost their lives. While it was not the worst volcanic eruption on record, it nevertheless was a shock. Ever given that then, Mt St Helens has been watched like a hawk, and a lot more than a couple of installment loan went into repairing the damage.
Mt St Helens 1980 eruption
In March of 1980, Mt St Helens was shaken by a series of earthquakes after being dormant for over a century. For the next two months, the mountain was closely monitored. On May 18, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale shook the mountain. A landslide on the north face opened a vent to the interior. The side of the mountain exploded, sending super heated gases, magma, rock and other debris out of the side of the volcano.
A pyroclastic blast traveling at the speed of sound exploded out of the side as a result of the landslide. The debris was shot 20 miles out of the side. 17 different pyroclastic flows leaked out of the side following the original explosion. Two weeks following the eruption, the materials spewed forth from the mountain were nevertheless almost 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The damage
Material flowed out of the volcano up to 20 miles away. Area rivers were heavily damaged as debris entered the rivers and mud flows began. Over a cubic mile of material was shot out of the volcano. 200 homes, 27 bridges, 15 miles of railway and 185 miles of highway were destroyed, and 57 perished. President Carter declared the landscape as desolate as the lunar surface.
Further fallout
An ash cloud extended 12 miles into the atmosphere. The ash spread all over Washington state, and also the city of Yakima received a heavy layer by the next day. Spokane, Wash., was plunged into total darkness, with a visibility of about 10 feet. Ash fell as far south as New Mexico and as far east as Minnesota. Airports were forced to ground flights as a result, like the recent Iceland volcano eruptions did. The energy released by the blast was 1,600 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. The mountain was left over 1,000 feet shorter and with a crater almost 2.5 miles wide. . The Mt St Helens eruption caused over $ 1 billion in damage. It was among the worst natural disasters in US history, and one a lot more reminder that Mother Nature could be a cruel mistress.
Citations
Mt St Helens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens
