On this day: 1980 - Mount St. Helens

On this day in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the State of Washington. The event began as a 5.1 magnitude earthquake which caused the collapse of the north facing wall of the mountain which resulted in an avalanche and subsequent explosion of pressurized volcanic gasses. The incident resulted in 57 fatalities attributed to asphyxiation, burns, and trauma. In the wake of the volcano approximately 150 square miles of forest was destroyed. 

Source: http://goo.gl/GqZD8

Sources
http://goo.gl/Nc9A7
http://goo.gl/CpTWX

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Steven Kuhr

Emergency Management Nexus
Disaster History

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