Washington's highest volcano and the risk of flattening the US city

Continuous earthquakes can cause Rainier volcano to be disturbed, and the consequences are expected to be disastrous.

An earthquake that rocked Mount St Helens in Washington may have woken a more dangerous volcano, capable of flattening the entire US city, seismologists warned.

Mount Rainier is Washington's highest mountain.

Mount St Helens, an active volcano in southern Washington, was hit by a magnitude 3.9 earthquake on Wednesday. This is the region's strongest earthquake since 1981, according to Daily. Star. After this 3.9-magnitude earthquake, about 150 other small earthquakes happened.

In 1980, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook St Helens volcano, causing a terrible eruption that killed 57 people.

Last month, seismologists at the University of Washington recorded more than 80 earthquakes in this mountain - tripling the average.

According to experts, earthquakes in St Helens mountain are quite common and not necessarily a sign of an eruption.

But seismologists believe that successive vibrations can cause disturbance to the more dangerous nearby volcano.

Every 500 to 1,000 years, Mount Rainier releases volcanic mud streams called lahar.

Mr. Seth Moran, director of the Cascades Volcano Observatory of the US Geological Survey (USGS), said Rainier is the most dangerous volcano in Washington.

Every 500 to 1,000 years, Mount Rainier - Washington's highest mountain - releases volcanic mud streams called lahar .

These lahar landslides can flow down the Puyallup River, which is 72km long, towards the city of Tacoma.

If Mount Rainier loses a large lahar line, tens of thousands of people will be in its flow.

In the worst case scenario, the entire 211,277 residents of Tacoma City could be attacked by lava.

If Mount Rainier loses a large lahar line, tens of thousands of people will be in its flow.

Moran said studies show that this "unstable" volcano may be on the verge of releasing a deadly stream of mud.

"We have studied volcanoes and found many volcanic parts unstable and capable of discharging mud ," Moran said. "This will happen when volcanoes fall into unrest or eruption. '.

In the event of an eruption, Tacoma residents only have about 45 minutes to evacuate before lava flows into the city, according to Moran.