BREAKING: Slow Seismic Slip Underway In PNW

[canegrl04]

Chances for a major earthquake 30 times greater in next 2 weeks

check the story link at drudge on left hand column

http://www.drudgereport.com

[GalvestonDuck]

What's next? A freak blizzard up north in October?

[Brent]

OK... whatever.

Wasn't California supposed to have the big one months ago?

[azsnowman]

Now....could this set Mt. St.Helens off, Yellowstone Super volcano off too? COuld be VERY interesting!

Dennis

[Brent]

The chance of a major earthquake is 30 times higher now for a roughly two-week period, but the odds are still remote, scientists say.

[Brent]

A separate study recently concluded that a major earthquake along the fault could be overdue, given clusters of the events seen in the geologic record. Because the fault is offshore, scientists say its rupture could create a devastating tsunami.

That's just what everyone needs... NOT.

[greeng13]

i've never heard of this possibility though. a tsunami reaching the US Gulf Coast?

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/050316_tsunami_carib.html

[Miss Mary]

Oh this is just great.....my oldest daughter is going to college, very close to the New Madrid Fault! She didn't believe us either when we told her.....of course she will IF there's a rumble.....that region (St. Louis, KY, TN, etc.) is long overdue for a big one.

I'm just not going to think about this. At least she's on the 4th floor in her dorm building and not the 9th!

Mary

[BEER980]

I read last week about an area in Oregon I think called the three sisters mountains. The one seems to be starting to swell and they think some magma may be on the move if I remember correctly. Maybe it is connected to the fault slip.

[Brent]

Oh this is just great.....my oldest daughter is going to college, very close to the New Madrid Fault! She didn't believe us either when we told her.....of course she will IF there's a rumble.....that region (St. Louis, KY, TN, etc.) is long overdue for a big one.

If the New Madrid erupts, your not safe either... there would be damage all the way to the East Coast and down into the Southeastern States. Not pretty. The California quakes cover a much smaller area because the large mountains absorb the shock.

[andrewr]

It's kind of weird because today we had a state wide earthquake and tsunami drill. That's some good timing if you ask me as these things are usually planned in advance.

[Skywatch_NC]

Oh this is just great.....my oldest daughter is going to college, very close to the New Madrid Fault! She didn't believe us either when we told her.....of course she will IF there's a rumble.....that region (St. Louis, KY, TN, etc.) is long overdue for a big one.

If the New Madrid erupts, your not safe either... there would be damage all the way to the East Coast and down into the Southeastern States. Not pretty. The California quakes cover a much smaller area because the large mountains absorb the shock.

Right you are, Brent...I remember reading about the New Madrid Earthquake (1811 - 1812) and it even rang church bells as far as Boston, MA.

[Stephanie]

I read last week about an area in Oregon I think called the three sisters mountains. The one seems to be starting to swell and they think some magma may be on the move if I remember correctly. Maybe it is connected to the fault slip.

Perhaps, but I did read about that mountain range as well. I think it was even posted here.

The year 2005 is going to be ANOTHER ONE for the memory books!

[senorpepr]

If the New Madrid erupts, your not safe either... there would be damage all the way to the East Coast and down into the Southeastern States. Not pretty. The California quakes cover a much smaller area because the large mountains absorb the shock.

Actually, it's not so much (although is a part) the mountains, but rather the soil composition. The central and eastern states have a much higher percentage of rock (such as limestone) than the western coastal states. That allows for continued reverberation of the shock in the central and east whereas the west the shock is more absorbed.

[GalvestonDuck]

I remember my eighth-grade geology teacher telling us that there is a dormant volcano near the Waddy-Peytona exit on I-64 between Louisville and Shelbyville (there's a radio tower built on top of the "hill" right now).

But that was YEARS ago and I have tried to find anything about it on the 'net and can't find even a hint of anything. If there was one, couldn't the New Madrid fault wake it up?

[azsnowman]

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/update.html


Cascade Range Current Update
U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, Washington
University of Washington, Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network, Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, September 14, 2005 10:15 a.m. PDT (1715 UTC)


MOUNT ST. HELENS UPDATE


Current status is Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2); aviation color code ORANGE: Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens continues, accompanied by low rates of seismicity, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases, and minor production of ash. During such eruptions, changes in the level of activity can occur over days to months. The eruption could intensify suddenly or with little warning and produce explosions that cause hazardous conditions within several miles of the crater and farther downwind. Small lahars could suddenly descend the Toutle River if triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks with snow and ice. These lahars pose a negligible hazard below the Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) but could pose a hazard along the river channel upstream.


Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that any ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift southeastward early in the day and eastward later.

Potential ash hazards to aviation: Under current eruptive conditions, small, short-lived explosions may produce ash clouds that exceed 30,000 feet in altitude. Ash from such events can travel 100 miles or more downwind.


Recent observations: Analysis of DomeCam images from the Sugar Bowl camera and GPS data from the west arm of the glacier shows that the northern part of the lava dome continues to move westward. In doing so it is pushing the west glacier, which is thickening, increasing its rate of flow, and becoming more crevassed. This process is similar to what happened to the east glacier over the winter when the dome was growing eastward. Crews are in the field today to reposition GPS spiders, retrieve seismic equipment, and install an additional camera.

U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington continue to monitor the situation closely and will issue additional updates and changes in alert level as warranted.


For additional information, background, images, and other graphics:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/ Eruption04/


For seismic information:
http://www.pnsn.org/HELENS/ welcome.html


For a definition of alert levels:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Cascades/ CurrentActivity/volcano_warning_scheme.html


For a webcam view of the volcano:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/ volcanocams/msh/


Telephone recordings with the latest update on Mount St. Helens and phone contacts for additional information can be heard by calling:


Media (360) 891-5180


General public (360) 891-5202