Temblors Intensify At Mount St. Helens

Sat., July 18, 1998

From Staff

Seismic activity at Mount St. Helens continues to increase, leaving scientists wondering if it’s an early warning sign of a pending eruption.

In May, 165 small quakes were recorded at the mountain. That number jumped to 318 for June. And there have been 320 quakes in just the first 17 days of July, KOMO-TV reported Friday night.

The activity is being caused by “magma,” or lava, building up in chambers underground.

“If we saw an increased number of very shallow ones, particularly those that are right in the top one or two kilometers, those usually are indications that the pressures are increasing basically right beneath the dome,” University of Washington seismologist Steve Malone told KOMO. “That would be a sign that perhaps an eruption is really on the way.”

A giant lava dome formed in the mountain’s crater after its massive 1980 eruption.

In the meantime, researchers say there’s no cause for alarm. No part of the mountain is restricted because of the quakes.

The mountain’s last major eruption was May 18, 1980. The blast killed 57 people, destroyed 230 square miles of forest and set off mud flows that roared down rivers and blocked Columbia River shipping lanes.<

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