Mt. Rainier Eruption ? (Spanaway, Pacific, Orting: homes, buy, live in)

[allforcats]

"lava and ash exception"

You're so funny!!

[West coast at heart]

Originally Posted by tudorjason

It crosses my mind everytime I happen to drive along Valley Avenue in my town of Sumner. Valley Avenue, officially known as Hwy 162, leads into Orting. It isn't a thought that happens everyday and it's usually fleeting.

It is scary to think of what could happen, but you can't allow yourself to think about it a lot or it'll run your life. But I will never live in Orting; the time it will take to drive from Orting to where I live in Sumner would probably be the same amount of time it would take for me to run and climb up the hill to Bonney Lake if I needed to - and that amount of time could save my life.

Interesting point. I had not even thought about this aspect of moving here. I am planning on moving to W. WA by next summer. I have always loved and admired the mountains. On one of my visits to see my inlaws in LaConner, we went part way up Mt Baker. That is a beautiful mt as well. I am looking forward to visiting Rainier and the other mts.

Originally Posted by ochoco

I remember a dream (nightmare?) vividly I had several years ago. I was living in Leavenworth (where I lived for years). It was early in the day and there was this tremendously loud explosion that shook everything. I stepped out of my house only to be startled by a massive plume of smoke to the SW. Turned on the radio to learn that Rainier had erupted. They were urging the immediate evacuation of the entire Western portions of the state. Early reports stated that the entire area from Rainier to Tacoma had been almost instantly obliterated with an estimated death toll of at least 100,000. We got in our car and headed east as well, only to be met with highways clogged with others fleeing the eruption as well. That's when I awoke. End of nightmare and end of much of Washington as we knew her.
It's a scary scenario I know, but it is not a question of whether it will happen, but rather when. All of the Cascade volcanoes are dormant, not dead. Mt. Rainier will come out of it's sleep one day with devastating consequences. So, if you've not visited the National Park, I urge you to. It is one of the most beautiful mountains on Earth.

Great dream! Well great as far as being such a vivid one. The thought of being caught like that is a bit unnerving.

Hi Cats! Thanks for the great links.

wc@h

[allforcats]

For those new to the subject of the potential hazards from Mt. Rainier, here is the best map I've seen showing the scientists' expectations of where the lahars would flow:

[mrman78]

It's not detering me. I'd rather live with that slight risk than have the yearly risk of hurricane's here in Houston - especially after Ike. I got my degree in Geology and Geography from Hawaii and was especially interested in Volcanology (hence the location...) so I like to think I know some of the signs to look for before running!

[509]

Originally Posted by allforcats

Ochoco, what a fascinating and specific dream! Thank you so much for sharing that with us! One lesson: drive north, not east

Check the winds alof from the weather service, before heading in ANY direction. Most times driving east will just get you into the ash cloud...however, there are times that the cloud could move in any direction depending on the season.

I had to head go from Omak to Coeur d'Alene after St. Helens. It took four days before I could travel. Information was really lacking. I suspect for the Spokane area things will be much better this time around, with all the practice of FireStorm, IceStorm, etc.

I do feel sorry for the folks west of the Cascades in any disaster. Heading east will not be an option. A couple of years ago the week after Labor Day I-90 was shut down. People returning to western Washington more of less closed SR2 due to heavy traffic. That was just folks returning AFTER the busy summer season.

Can you imagine what will happen if they have to evacuate the Puget Sound area!!

[West coast at heart]

That is a cool map Cats. I hope I am long gone before anything like that happens.

mrman 78, I am going to have to agree with you. I still want to live there. I think I would like to get a closer look though. I may have to take up mountain climbing.

wc@h

[MichaelinWA]

I'm much more worried about the possibility of a major earthquake than a volcanic eruption. Then again I live in a highlands area, above any lava flows. But not immune from ash, even 60 or 70 miles away.

[West coast at heart]

Well there is that. I keep forgetting about the west coast's little quirks. I have lived in Indiana for 43 years. We have blizzards and tornadoes as our specialty. I am ready for a change. I will live with the earthquakes and volcanoes threat. WA does not really get too many quakes does it? My wife's parents lived in LaConner for the past 10 years and I think they mentioned one minor one a few years back. I believe it was barely noticeable.

This brings up a question. As I look at houses, is there anything I should be looking for? Are there ways to tell if the house has or had structural problems due to quakes?

wc@h

[Sandy Nelson]

Illuminating map. I didn't see Yelm on it. I always thought that Yelm would be affected by a Lahar flow.

Sandy

[allforcats]

Hi Sandy. We've missed you lately, with your good cheer, great knowledge and wise counsel!
Over the years, this is the most instructive map I've found. It appears that the expected lahar and lava flows are most likely to occur in the carved-out valleys that have seen the flows in times past. Paths of least resistence, you know?

West Coast, the last earthquake of real significance around here was a 6.8 on the Richter scale on Feb. 28, 2001. A 6.8 is fairly significant. A 7 is considered the beginning of "bad"; a 7 is I think 4 times shakier than a 6.8. In that Nisqually quake, as it is called, there was scattered damage around here -- some old (early 20th century) brick buildings saw quite a bit of damage, newer buildings had minor or no damage. It occurred at 10:55AM, so everyone was at work, and we had to deal with whatever damage occurred at work (my computer monitor fell off my desk as did many others) including all the downtown office buildings' elevators being shut down for inspection, then getting home across bridges that might or might not be safe (they were safe), then finding out what, if anything, occurred in one's neighborhood and at home. My particular neighborhood had quite a lot of fallen tree branches. All I had in my home was one small ceramic pot which had fallen from my mantle -- and four cats who had a whole lot to tell me!

There are many faults around here under the land and under the ocean, as well as grinding tectonic plates just off the coast, and we have subduction zones, plus those volcanic cones. So Earth speaks to us pretty constantly, but most of the conversation is quiet and gentle, unheard and unfelt. Those are mostly 2+ and 3+ quakes, most of them deep. And the prevailing -- correct? -- wisdom is that when Earth speaks frequently and softly, we are less likely to see her speak loudly and disruptively.

The University of Washington has a huge, well-funded seismology monitoring and interpreting program, which keeps us all informed as soon as they know anything about anything. The USGS also has, understandably, a big presence here. Earthquakes are not a constant danger. Just a who-knows-when? one