Center for Catholic Education. Michael Graham, S.J., Xavier's President, has committed the University to engaging students intellectually, morally, and spiritually - with rigor and compassion - toward lives of solidarity, service, and success. This is Xavier's Catholic and Jesuit identity and heritage.
On Saturday, Japan's Mount Ontake volcano erupted without warning, surprising several hundred nearby hikers. Plumes of volcanic gas and ash overtook the fleeing hikers and buried nearby lodges and outbuildings. Though most of the people on Mount Ontake that day were able to escape.
1 Mount St. Helens was reduced by over 1,300 feet in height. 2  Volcanic ash fell as far as 930 miles away (see ash fall map). 3  The debris avalanche and mudflows buried the Toutle valley to a depth of almost 50 meters.4  The eruption lasted for 9 hours.ount St. Helens erupted at 8:32 a.m. PST on May 18, 1980, reminding Pacific Northwest residents and people around the world of the powerful and uncontrollable forces of nature. Physical effects of the eruption were experienced in dozens of U.S. states, with ash falling as far away as Oklahoma.