http://endoftheamericandream.com/could-mt-hood-be-the-first-volcano-to-erupt-on-the-west-coast/March 3, 2021
It is just a matter of time before one of the big volcanoes on the west coast erupts again. For years, I have been warning about Mt. Rainier, and I will continue to sound the alarm about it. When it finally goes, the death and destruction it causes could be off the charts. Of course there are other volcanoes along the west coast that we need to be watching as well. Although it doesn’t receive as much attention as Mt. Rainier, some experts are becoming concerned that Mt. Hood could soon erupt. On Monday, dozens of earthquakes shook the volcano for 45 minutes, and the USGS is trying to calm the frayed nerves of nearby residents…
A 45-minute “earthquake swarm” reported this week near Oregon’s Mount Hood has the U.S. Geological Survey offering explanations — and reassurance the volcano is not becoming more active.
Dozens of earthquakes, most not felt on the surface, came in succession around 12:13 p.m. Monday, centered about a half mile southwest of the volcano, geologists say.Hopefully the USGS is correct in this instance.
But if Mt. Hood was going to erupt, we would expect to see a rise in unusual seismic activity at the volcano, and that is precisely what we are witnessing.
It is true that there hasn’t been a major eruption of Mt. Hood in a very long time, but scientists tell us that one back during the 1780s was extremely destructive…
In the 1780s, the volcano rumbled to life with such force that it sent high-speed avalanches of hot rock, gas and ash down its slopes. Those flows quickly melted the snow and ice and mixed with the meltwater to create violent slurries as thick as concrete that traveled huge distances. They destroyed everything in their path.
Today, the volcano, a prominent backdrop against Portland, Ore., is eerily silent. But it won’t stay that way.If a similar eruption happened today, resorts and little towns in the vicinity of Mt. Hood “would be obliterated”…
Kiss your ski season goodbye: Resorts and little towns like Zigzag would be obliterated by avalanches and pyroclastic flows (currents of hot gas and rock that can move at 50 mph and reach 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit). Deadly debris flows would reach Gresham and the Columbia River in about three hours.
