Mount St. Helens Erupts: 57 Dead, Billions in Damage
Mount St. Helens erupted at 8:32 AM on May 18, 1980, after a magnitude 5.1 earthquake triggered the largest landslide in recorded history, removing the entire north face of the mountain. The lateral blast traveled at 670 mph and flattened 230 square miles of forest. The eruption column rose 80,000 feet in 15 minutes. Fifty-seven people died, including USGS volcanologist David Johnston, whose final radio transmission was "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" Innkeeper Harry Truman, 83, who had refused to evacuate his lodge on Spirit Lake, was buried under 150 feet of volcanic debris. The eruption reduced the mountain's elevation from 9,677 feet to 8,363 feet. The blast zone has since become a natural laboratory for studying ecological recovery.
May 18, 1980
46 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Washington
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1980 Mount St. Helens eruption
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Mount St. Helens
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1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
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Washington
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Mount St. Helens
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1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
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Washington (state)
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United States
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Pyroklastischer Strom
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David A. Johnston
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