Newsworthy or not?

Image via Wikipedia

Mt Rainier in the US Pacific Northwest suffered several quakes in the past week. This caused the news media to report it both on TV, and in text. The thing about this, is that some people feel that the whole thing is a not worth a news story. Now here are some facts about Mt Rainier: It is a 14.440 foot high stratovolcano in the Cascade Mountain range. It last erupted in the 18th century. Since then, other then an occasional lahar (landslide)  and some earthquakes, it has been quiet. The quakes in question were small, a M3.4 and a M2.9. (M = Magnitude) These quakes are larger then the usual quakes, and occurred over a short period of time.  So in that respect, they were worthy of note. Nothing really special, but interesting none-the-less.

I can see the local media covering the quakes, volcanoes are fascinating, can ruin your day. Plus the Cascade volcanoes dominate the skyline, so they are kind of hard to ignore. The local media did not really go overboard reporting it. BUT, the national, and yes, international media, did. It was a minor local event, and did not warrant the headlines it received. Yes, if Mt. Rainier would erupt, it could possibly become the most expensive natural disaster in US history. But next time, let the scientists decide if it was time to take note, or run for the hills.

Related articles

• Spate of quakes around Mount Rainier (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Growing tension along Cascadia subduction zone: Washington rattled by series of tremors (theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com)
• 50 Years Ago (bendbulletin.com)
• When is a volcano going to erupt again (wiki.answers.com)