Mt Rainier Volcano is beginning to RUMBLE - Seismographs very active!

[DEEPER storm]

October 23, 2017: Mt Rainier in Washington is showing signs of increased activity. Seismographs on the north side of the 14,000ft volcano show tons of activity.

Mount Rainier is part of the Cascade Range and is located on a Subduction Zone, and experiences about 20 small earthquakes each year. However in the last month there has been a significant uptick including an Earthquake Swarm directly under Mount Rainier. Rainier is the 2nd most active and highest volcano of the Northern Cascade Range, following Mount Saint Helens. The concern with Mount Rainier though, is that it rises above 3.3 million people and is very hazardous and potential for eruptions. Mount Rainier is a Stratovolcano and began erupting one half to one million years ago. Its most recent activity was in the 1890s. Each eruption alternates from quiet lava eruptions to large debris forming eruptions. Lava and loose rubble built up to form layers and a tall cone, whose upper section was destroyed highly likely due to explosions, landslides, or the glaciers that formed the mountain's rugged structure. The peak's summit has also worn down over the years, but the eruptions in the last 2,000 years have rebuilt the land form to its current height of 14,410 feet today. With Mount Rainier and Scientists prediction to erupt again, its location that is a potential threat to densely populated surrounding areas makes this latest Earthquake Swarm a potentially disastrous situation.

[Silver Pie]

Whoa! Sounds like it could be really bad if it blows.

[brianj]

The Cascade Volcano Observatory doesn't show anything unusual at Rainier other than a bit more earthquakes than usual related to the mountain's hydrothermal system.
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/

But when Rainier does erupt it will be very bad. This page has an image showing regions that will be devastated by debris flows, lahars, and flooding. Lahars will go all the way down the Puyallup River to the Port of Tacoma, and down the Nisqually River to the Sound. The area of Puyallup, Tacoma, and Spanaway will be almost completely cut off from the rest of the world, except for the Tacoma Narrows bridge and the runway at McChord AFB. Federal Way through West Seattle will become another island, with the Seattle airport providing the only accessibility to the rest of the world. After reviewing this page check out a map showing how populous the region from Orting to the Port of Seattle is.
http://geology.com/usgs/rainier/

The people of Orting will have about a 40 minute warning, which probably won't be enough time for a lot of people to get out of there.

I wouldn't want to be there when the mountain erupts, but I sure wish I could see it and the lahars that will result.