May 18, 1980 saw the eruption of what, causing the death of 57 people and over $3 billion in damages?
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens Helens has been documented as a continuous eruption with a gradual extrusion of magma at the Mount St. Helens volcano. Starting in October 2004, there was a gradual building of a new lava dome. The new dome did not rise above the caldera created by the 1980 eruption. This activity lasted until January 2008. 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens On May 18, 1980, a major volcanic eruption occurred at Mount St. Helens, a volcano located in Skamania County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The eruption (a VEI 5 event) was the most significant volcanic eruption to occur in
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens on the volcano melted, forming a series of large lahars (volcanic mudslides) that reached as far as the Columbia River, nearly to the southwest. Less severe outbursts continued into the next day, only to be followed by other large, but not as destructive, eruptions later that year. Thermal energy released during the eruption was equal to 26 megatons. Approximately 57 people were killed directly, including innkeeper Harry R. Truman, photographers Reid Blackburn and Robert Landsburg, and geologist David A. Johnston. Hundreds of square miles were reduced to wasteland, causing over $1 billion in damage (equivalent to over $3 billion ),