Mt. St. Helens

Helene charge moved(p) Washington States miserliness On Sunday, May 18, 1980, at 8AMA, Mat. SST. Helene erupted. well-nigh people dont realize how the eruption affected our economy. It affected Washingtons forestry / forest production, trade, transportation, topography, fisheries, and wildlife. Our Economy lost trillions of dollars. Lets see how it affected our economy. First, lets start with forestry/forest production. This affected companies which had been logging. The companies had to castrate back on logging while the smashed timber was beingness harvested.Although the lack of umber caused fluctuations In the market prices for logs, such variation were outweighed in boastful measures by the downward pressure on market prices generated by the depressed level of the economy. Also, the presence of the ash on the ground and on the logs presented serious problems in harvesting of the logs, and their processing into products. The ash, being gritty in nature, caused extensive wear on chain saws, chipper knives, and other bare equipment, thus raising costs of logging and of manufacturing. Also, Washington being wizard of the three Pacific Northwest states plays a role in trade.Washington especially is important for products handle wheat, flour, lumber, and wood products. The main loss was the ash footing to crops like fruit trees, wheat, and barley. The trade for lumber and wood products also reduced from the loss of trees. Trade was also affected from transportation. Without transportation they couldnt send the exports. transfer was shamed by ash fall, mudslides, floods, and the extravasation. As a go out that ill-used 63 miles of roadstead, well-nigh 25 link, and blocked the capital of South Carolina River. The highest of all the bridges in the National Forest Service Land damaged was a gig steel- girder.Also, nine bridges by the Tuttle River. The combination of damage to roads and bridges was about $1 12 million dollars, A result of Mat. SST. Helene blow was mudslides In the Tuttle and Cowlick River. When the cowl flooded body of water lost locomote as they mixed with the Tidal Columbia they could no longer have got nearly as much sediment. Consequently, somewhere between 40 million and 60 million cubic yards of volcanic material entered the Columbia River. The Columbia River was blocked no longer than a week. Traffic resumed 5 years after the eruption. TheColumbia River ports were capable of normal operation no longer than a month after the eruption. The damage of the Columbia River created a loss of about 4 percent of all cargo that would have been otherwise passed through and through the ports in 1980. The Columbia River repairs were $44 million dollars but it was of relatively short circuit duration. The landscape (or topography) of the area around Mat. SST. Helene was greatly affected by the eruption. The blast blew approximately 1. 5 cubic kilometers off the top of the were a study product of the eruption. Mo st of the north and south forks of the Tuttle River were destroyed.Many other rivers around the potful, like the Green River and the Cowlick River, had increased silt and sediment deposited, and thus their capacity for water flow and navigation reduced. The second the blast played with the river system, it was serious. The immediate jeopardy was flooding. The communities around the Cowlick and Tuttle River were threatened by the mudflows. Erosion was another danger. In the blast area the devastation was almost complete. The grounds were stripped of vegetation and the subjective barriers to eating away were destroyed. Immediately after the blast there was evidence of erosion on the hillsides.As the lilies eroded, it increased the amount of mark and rock. As time went by, the soil and rock then entered into the rivers. The damaging effect of Mat. SST. Helene eruption to fisheries was substantial. It resulted primarily from mudflows and floods. The eruption adversely affected the e ntire Mat. SST. Helene drainage system. All of the fish in the Tuttle and in the Cowlick Rivers were killed by the eruption. Salmon was the main fish impacted. The majority of them were the untried salmon (about 400,000) that were on their way downstream at the time of the eruption. The fisheries estimated a loss of about 12 million Juvenile almond.The salmon losings included all the salmon from all the affected rivers at that time. The dredging of the transport channels in the Columbia and Cowlick Rivers was also believed to have killed many fish. commonly there was no dredging at that time because of the fish migration, but large scale dredging was carried out during the eruption. Fish in the Columbia River were affected by temperatures caused by the eruption. All hatcheries in the region had their costs increased as a result of the necessity of cleaning up the ash that had entered their systems. on that point was also a cost associated with moving fish from one localisation of function to another.The blast destroyed about 154 miles of trout streams and 26 lakes. The total cost of damage for fisheries was about $22 million dollars. Finally, not only did fish put across but so did other wildlife. It was estimated by the Washington State feisty Department that 1 ,551 ,OHO animals (not including the fish) died because of the eruption. Among the casualties there were about 5,250 elk, 6,000 deer, 200 bears, 100 mountain goats, and 15 cougars. The blast destroyed 195 square miles of habitat. Wildlife in ash-covered areas suffered some degenerative health damage room the ash fall, but didnt become a widespread problem.Respiratory damage to range animals was a major concern, but it commonly develops only after years of exposure to airborne dust, so it didnt seem likely. The ash did not appear to be harmful when ingested by grazing animals, but it could injure fish. The ash was extremely sharp and could severely lacerate gills, causing injury or death. Th e grand total for everything was about 1,213 million dollars. Washingtons Economy was definitely affected by Mat. SST. Helene eruption. I hope this information helps you understand how the eruption affected our economy.