Ongoing Mount Rainier seismic swarm now surpasses 2009 event
Another swarm of earthquakes hit Mount Rainier
Hundreds of earthquakes have been rattling Mount Rainier over the last two days, marking the largest swarm since 2009.
SEATTLE - The most recent seismic swarm at Mount Rainier has hit a new milestone as scientists continue to monitor activity at the volcano.
In a Friday statement, the United States Geologic Survey says the earthquake count now surpasses those recorded during the 2009 seismic swarm.
Largest quake yet hits WA's Mount Rainier in ongoing ‘earthquake swarm’
Seismologists are closely monitoring Mount Rainier after a swarm of earthquakes struck the Pacific Northwest’s tallest volcano this week.
By the numbers:
Multiple agencies have located a total of 391 seismic events since the start of the swarm at 1:29 a.m. on July 8.
Scientists say there were even more since the beginning of the event. However, they have not been mapped.
The largest earthquake of the storm hit on Tuesday, July 8. Overall, seismic events have decreased from a peak of around 30 per hour earlier in the week to just a few per hour ahead of the weekend on Friday.
Big picture view:
The swarm is not believed to be a result of magma unrest, lowering the overall concern from the scientific community. Right now, they believe this week's activity has been background activity from fluid circulation along fault lines.
Living in the shadow of Mount Rainier always carries the concern of future lahars. Last year, more than 45,000 students participated in a lahar drill in the area.
Officials with the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) continue to monitor conditions.
The Source: Information in this story came from the United States Geological Survey's earthquakes page.
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