Late last year, I reported that Mount Adams, a volcano in Washington’s Cascade Range that includes the infamous Mt. St. Helens, had recently experienced an unusual increase in seismic activity, triggering a new focus on its study.
In September, six earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 0.9 to 2.0 were recorded at the site. This number represents a significant uptick compared to the typical rate of one earthquake every 2-3 years and can indicate magma coming to the surface.
However, there has been a lot more shaking going on in that state.
On March 3, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck near Orcas Island. This quake was widely felt across the Puget Sound region, including parts of Canada, but caused no damage or injuries. It was the largest earthquake in the region since 2019.
That event occurred after significant seismic activity in February.
KING 5 viewers across western Washington reported being able to feel the earthquake in Oak Harbor, Mukilteo, Bow and Arlington.Monday’s earthquake comes after a variety of seismic events hit around the region in February, including a pair of earthquakes over 2.5 magnitude on Feb. 27.PNSN Director Harold Tobin said this shows that Washington is in a seismically active region.“So far there’s nothing that rises above what I would call normal activity for our region,” Tobin said. “Sometimes we have bigger felt earthquakes. Sometimes we go a longer period without them.”
On March 5, a magnitude 3.9 earthquake occurred near Port Angeles.
Another earthquake shook western Washington on Wednesday, with a nearly 4.0 magnitude quake reported south of Port Angeles.The 3.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Olympic National Park area around 4:18 p.m., according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.Specifically, the quake was about 19 miles southeast of Port Angeles.
With all this activity, emergency officials are beginning to update their response plans in the event of the eruption of Mt. Adams and the infamous Mt. St. Helens.
The precautionary measure includes updating a 2014 plan detailing the communication and information sharing plans between agencies during the event of an eruption at either Mount Adams or Mount St. Helens.”We don’t really know when it’s going to erupt, what direction, how much ash is going to be, whether it will be days, weeks, months of unrest. So, the best thing we can do on a coordination plan is who has what responsibilities, who shares information, when and at what level, who reports to who,” said Volcano Program Manager Brian Terbush at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver….The group of leaders will reassess their current plan, which helps describe roles and responsibilities between agencies.The Washington Military Department shares the new plan will outline actions for preparedness, response, and recovery.”Coordination is more of a list of roles and responsibilities, while your standard operating procedures are what you do in different situations,” Terbush said. “So, having all of these people in the room, all of these people online, this is a good start.”
While they are at it, they may want to refresh plans for Mt. Ranier.
A review of emergency preparedness for a major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone is likely, too.
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