25th Anniversary of the Mount St. Helens Eruption

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOUNT ST. HELENS ERUPTION

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Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleague in the resolution commemorating the 25th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. I thank my colleague for working on the resolution to commemorate this historic event. Not only for Washington State and the Northwest, but for our country, May 18 marks an incredible landmark in time for people in the Northwest and certainly marks a critical response by our Federal Government. It also allows us to reflect on the progress we have made as a nation to develop a greater understanding about the more than 160 active volcanoes in the United States.

For over 100 years, Mount St. Helens stood in silence, a relatively dormant peak and serene part of the Pacific Northwest. But on the morning of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted releasing a plume of ash that filled the sky, circling the Earth in just 15 days. The destructive eruption eviscerated everything in its path and tore through miles of trees.

Today, 25 years later, the effect of the 1980 eruption remains evident, and the rumbling of Mount St. Helens over the past several months reminds many of us, particularly in Washington State, of those events on May 18, 1980. The level of activity of Mount St. Helens, combined with the unpredictability of it, makes it very special for Washingtonians. We embrace the mountain's beauty but remain in profound respect of its power and weary of a repeat eruption similar to 1980.

What is important to understand is that Mount St. Helens, located 90 miles south of Seattle and 65 miles north of Portland, OR, when it exploded, released such hot steam that it actually melted 70 percent of the snow and ice on top of the mountain. To give you a sense of that enormity, Mount St. Helens was, prior to this, the ninth highest peak in the State of Washington. It has now been reduced about 1,300 feet. The avalanche that was created by that explosion was close to two-thirds of a cubic mile of debris. The Geological Survey estimates that would be enough to cover Washington, DC, in more than 14 feet of ash and mud. That is basically what the Northwest dealt with when this explosion happened in 1980. We saw flows of rock and ice covering various parts of the north fork of the Toutle River, debris running down those pathways wherever it could go. The eruption destroyed 27 bridges that were part of our highway structure, 200 hundred homes, 185 miles of roadway, and 15 miles of railway.

What is unique about this is that Congress responded. We responded because of the devastation to the physical and environmental infrastructure but also because of the loss of life. My colleague and I are here to commemorate those 57 Washingtonians who died in the incident, and one particular individual, David Johnston, who was with the U.S. Geological Survey. What this anniversary marks is the great strides we've made as a Nation to response to science in this area.

David Johnston, by comparison, in 1980 had been studying Mount St. Helens for many months. In fact, on the morning of the explosion, he was 6 miles away on what is now called Johnston Ridge. Many of my colleagues may, if they turned on the TV in the last several months to see rumblings of Mount St. Helens, seen many observers, and many members of the media stationed on Johnston Ridge. When Mount St. Helens erupted on that day, David Johnston, who was our monitoring system at Mount St. Helens only had an opportunity to say: Vancouver, this is it. And the eruption took his life.

Where we are today is that we have volcanologists, geologists, seismologists in what is a robust system of emergency response. The U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Interior, the National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Department of Homeland Security, and the Cascade Volcanic Observatory in Vancouver, WA, all provide us with a much greater sense of what is going on with Mount St. Helens and what the emergency response should be in the event of a similar explosion.

My colleague mentioned that we have seen a lot of rumblings lately on Mount St. Helens, and certainly those eruptions have caused concern. But I think today's anniversary reminds us that as a nation we responded to this activity with a better warning system, and with a much better understanding of volcanic activity in the United States. With the 162 active volcanoes in the United States, we in the Northwest want to see good research on this. The fact that Mt. Rainier and other mountains are much closer to great population centers of Washington State is something for which we want to continue to have an investment in good science.

I join my colleague Senator Murray and thank her for commemorating the events of May 18, 1980, as a particular point in time for Washingtonians and for our country. But as I stated this commemoration is also significant because it speaks to the advancements in science that our country has achieved in better preparing to respond to this type of emergency. When I think about the science we have applied as it relates to volcano monitoring, I am confident that with similar activity and research as it relates to tsunami activity--something that also could greatly impact the Northwest--we can better prepare for an event of that nature as well. It gives me a great deal of hope that we will, through better mapping, through better geological information, better seismic information, provide Washingtonians with greater security and safety.

As most of my State will be seeing many pictures of the eruption in 1980, I thank my colleagues from past Congresses for their support in giving us a Cascade Volcanic Observatory in the State of Washington and for the work the men and women do in various Federal agencies that provide us better scientific information and a better warning systems for our country.

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