XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics
XPost: or.politics, sac.politics
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14421937/Catastrophic- volcano-erupt-Pacific-Northwest.html
Experts say it is only a matter of time until Mount Rainier, one of the
most dangerous volcanos in the US, unleashes itself upon the Pacific
Northwest.
This huge, active stratovolcano looms over nearly 90,000 people living in cities such as Seattle, Tacoma, and Yakima in Washington as well as
Portland, Oregon.
Even though Mount Rainier has not produced a significant eruption in more
than 1,000 years, experts keep a very close eye on it due to its potential
to blow at any time, and the widespread destruction such an event would
cause.
'Mount Rainier keeps me up at night because it poses such a great threat
to the surrounding communities,' Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist and
ambassador for the Union of Concerned Scientists previously said during an appearance on CNN.
When this volcano eventually blows, it won't be lava flows or choking
clouds of ash that threaten surrounding cities, but lahars: violent, fast- moving mudflows that can tear across entire communities in a matter of
minutes.
Large lahars can crush, abrade, bury, or carry away almost anything in
their paths, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
'Tacoma and South Seattle are built on 100-foot-thick ancient mudflows
from eruptions of Mount Rainier,' Phoenix said. This is a strong
indication that these populous cities lie within the path of potential
lahars generated by a future eruption.
Volcanic eruptions usually cause lahars by rapidly melting snow and ice
that covers the volcano's slopes, which then destabilizes loose dirt, rock
and volcanic debris and causes it to flow rapidly downward.
But it doesn't always take an eruption to trigger a lahar, according to
the Seismological Society of America.
Rarely, these powerful mudslides can form as the result of gradual
weakening of the volcano's slopes due to past eruptions, or heavy rainfall after an eruption.
The deadliest lahar in recent history resulted from a 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz stratovolcano in Tolima, Columbia.
Within hours of the eruption, a torrent of mud, melted snow and rock
inundated the town of Armero and killed an estimated 25,000 people.
This event, now known as the Armero tragedy, was the costliest volcanic disaster in history, according to The International Disaster Database. The total economic impact was estimated at $1 billion.
The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, located in Washington just 50
miles from Mount Rainier, also produced a dangerous lahar that destroyed
more than 200 homes, over 185 miles of roads and contributed to the total
death toll of 57 people.
These tragic events have helped scientists better understand the threat
that lahars pose to human communities around active volcanoes, and experts
are currently preparing for the terrifying possibility of a lahar forming
at Mount Rainier.
Over the last 20 years, scientists have been upgrading and expanding lahar monitoring stations around this volcano, collectively known as The Mount Rainier Lahar Detection System.
This system is made up of seismometers and other instruments placed on the volcano�s slopes and vulnerable lahar paths such as the Puyallup and
Tahoma Creek drainages.
When this system was first established in 1998, its monitoring
capabilities were limited by 1990s-era technology, resulting in
significant delays between when a lahar was triggered and when the
instruments actually detected it.
But the new technologies implemented in the last two decades have
significantly improved the effectiveness of the system, allowing it to
operate in real-time.
Cities near Mount Rainier are also honing emergency response strategies to prepare for a potential eruption.
For example, On March 21, 2024, more than 45,000 students in communities
south of Seattle and west of Mount Rainier participated in the world�s
largest lahar evacuation drill, according to the USGS.
These measures will help the Pacific Northwest respond quickly and
effectively when this volcano erupts, which experts say could happen at virtually any time.
--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.
The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and
eradicated.
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)