Living with Volcanoes: the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program

Wright, Thomas; Pierson, Thomas

The 1980 cataclysmic eruption of Mount St. Helens (Lipman and Mullineaux, 1981) in southwestern Washington ushered in a decade marked by more worldwide volcanic disasters and crises than any other in recorded history. Volcanoes killed more people (over 28,500) in the 1980's than during the 78 years following the 1902 eruption of Mont (Martinique). Not surprisingly, volcanic phenomena and attendant hazards received attention from government authorities, the news media, and the general public. As part of this enhanced global awareness of volcanic hazards, the U.S. government significantly expanded the Volcano Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (Bailey and others, 1983) in response to the eruptions or volcanic unrest during the 1980's at Mount St. Helens (Washington), Mauna Loa and Kilauea (Hawaii), Long Valley Caldera (Califqrnia), and Redoubt Volcano (Alaska). Entering the 1990s, the sustained eruptive activity at Kilauea persists unabated, Mount St. Helens and Redoubt are still erupting intermittently, and the caldera unrest at Long Valley also continues, albeit less energetically than during the early 1980's. In addition to the areas mentioned above, the U.S. has many other active or potentially active volcanoes-over 65, which is more than all other countries except for Indonesia and Japan (Simkin and others, 1981; Tom Simkin, written commun., 1990). Most of these volcanoes are located in Alaska, and 55 of them, including 8 on the U.S. mainland, have shown activity since the U.S. was founded, just some 200 years ago.

Living with Volcanoes: the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program

Series