Latest news with #SeattleTacoma
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Catastrophic volcano near 3m Americans rocked by 800 earthquakes as experts wait with bated breath
Nearly 800 earthquakes have rattled Washington's Mount Rainier in the last 30 days, sparking fears that one of America's most dangerous volcanoes is coming to life. More than half of the quakes, approximately 512, struck in July alone, with one intense swarm unleashing over 400 tremors in just 12 hours. This towering stratovolcano looms over more than 3.3 million people across the Seattle-Tacoma metro area, threatening to cripple entire communities with ashfall, flooding, and catastrophic mudflows if it erupts. Although Rainier has not produced a major eruption in over 1,000 years, earthquake swarms like this are often linked to volcanic unrest. Such seismic activity is typically triggered by magma rising toward the surface, fracturing surrounding rock under intense pressure. However, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has downplayed immediate eruption fears, saying the current tremors are likely caused by hot fluids, not magma. Regardless, volcanologists have said that it is only a matter of time until Rainier, arguably the most dangerous volcano in the US, unleashes on the Pacific Northwest. 'Mount Rainier keeps me up at night because it poses such a great threat to the surrounding communities,' Jess Phoenix, a volcanologist and ambassador for the Union of Concerned Scientists told CNN. When this volcano eventually blows, it won't be lava flows or choking clouds of ash that threaten surrounding cities, but the lahars: violent, fast-moving mudflows that can tear across entire communities in a matter of minutes. Large lahars can crush, abrade, bury, or carry away almost anything in their paths, according to the USGS. 'Tacoma and South Seattle are built on 100-foot-thick ancient mudflows from eruptions of Mount Rainier,' Phoenix said. But for now, the USGS has found 'no indication that the level of earthquake activity is cause for concern, and the alert level and color code for Mount Rainier remain at GREEN / NORMAL.' The USGS issued a notice on July 9, informing the public that a major swarm had rattled Mount Rainier, which saw hundreds of earthquakes in half a day. 'Earthquakes are too small to be felt at the surface and will likely continue for several days. There would be no damage caused by such small events,' the USGS said. Since the earthquake swarm, scientists have detected hundreds of more up to a 2.3 magnitude. The USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) added: 'Instruments do not show any detectable ground deformation at the volcano, and no anomalous signals have been seen on the infrasound monitoring stations.' Volcanic eruptions usually cause lahars by rapidly melting snow and ice that covers the volcano's slopes, which then destabilizes loose dirt, rock and volcanic debris and causes it to flow rapidly downward. But it doesn't always take an eruption to trigger a lahar, according to the Seismological Society of America. Rarely, these powerful mudslides can form as the result of gradual weakening of the volcano's slopes due to past eruptions, or heavy rainfall after an eruption. The deadliest lahar in recent history resulted from a 1985 eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz stratovolcano in Tolima, Columbia. Within hours of the eruption, a torrent of mud, melted snow and rock inundated the town of Armero and killed an estimated 25,000 people. This event, now known as the Armero tragedy, was the costliest volcanic disaster in history, according to The International Disaster Database. The total economic impact was estimated at $1 billion. The 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, located in Washington just 50 miles from Mount Rainier, also produced a dangerous lahar that destroyed more than 200 homes, over 185 miles of roads and contributed to the total death toll of 57 people. These tragic events have helped scientists better understand the threat that lahars pose to human communities around active volcanoes, and experts are currently preparing for the terrifying possibility of a lahar forming at Mount Rainier.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Yahoo
Reported threat at Sea-Tac Airport closes two runways, suspect in custody
Police and fire departments of the Port of Seattle are investigating a reported threat made aboard an aircraft on a runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday. According to a Port of Seattle travel alert, police and firefighters arrived to investigate the incident — which involved an aircraft on the 16R/34L runway — around 1:00 p.m. Saturday. According to a Saturday afternoon statement released by port spokesperson Chris Guizlo, Seattle Police learned of a threat made by a passenger to Alaska Airlines flight 2123 departing to Walla Walla. According to the statement, flight crew followed protocol to taxi the aircraft to the outboard runway furthest from the terminal as police arrived to investigate. As a result, two runways were closed around 1:16 p.m. and passengers on the flight were deplaned and put through a security screening around 1:34 p.m. Passengers, baggage and the aircraft were cleared through K9 inspection, and no suspicious items were found, according to the statement. According to the statement, a suspect was taken into custody. Further investigation found 'made a flippant remark regarding a bomb' to the flight crew. All such remarks are taken seriously and investigated, according to the Port of Seattle statement. The FBI and port police are reviewing the incident and will work with prosecutors to decide whether to pursue charges, according to the statement. As of 1:58 p.m., Port of Seattle updated their travel alert to state all passengers have been deplaned and the center runway had been reopened. According to the statement, the aircraft was cleared by 3 p.m. and towed back to the terminal, and runway 16R/34L was reopened by 3:15 p.m. At 3:19 p.m., the Port of Seattle issued another update announcing that the airport would return to normal operations. Travelers are advised to monitor their airlines for further information on their specific flights. Editor's note: This story has been updated to include new information about the nature of the aircraft incident.
Geek Wire
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Wire
With a great view of Mount Rainier and Sea-Tac Airport, a YouTuber's new livestream takes off
Geek Life: Fun stories, memes, humor and other random items at the intersection of tech, science, business and culture. SEE MORE An airplane takes off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Friday morning, with Mount Rainier as a backdrop, in a screenshot from the YouTube livestream 'Rainier Aviation.' (Photo via YouTube / Rainier Aviation) Mitch Sutton has always been into airplanes, but things really took off five years ago when he bought a house in Burien, Wash., with a great view of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Mount Rainier. The house to the northwest of the airport runway provides a unique vantage point, where Sutton can see planes taxiing as well as taking off and landing all day and night. 'I love airplanes, but it's different when you live under them,' Sutton said, recounting his reservations about buying the house. 'But the airport with the mountain behind it? I was just like, 'I can't pass up this view.'' Mitch Sutton, with Sea-Tac Airport and Mount Rainer over the shoulder, from his home in Burien, Wash. (Photo courtesy of Mitch Sutton) A month into the East Coast native's move, he didn't even hear the planes anymore. And now he's so soothed by flyovers that he leaves a bedroom sliding glass door open so he can hear them at night. To bring that joy to others in some form, Sutton is running a new project called Rainier Aviation which includes a 24/7 YouTube livestream so that other aviation geeks and plane spotters can marvel at aircraft and the mountain that provides Sea-Tac's quintessential Northwest backdrop. He pairs the video with real-time flight traffic control audio. 'Being an enthusiast, I do look for plane-spotting channels, and Sea-Tac just didn't have one,' Sutton said. 'It's something I see every day and appreciate every day, so I just felt like it was time to share that view with everybody else.' Sutton runs the livestream from equipment mounted on a 10-foot rooftop mast that's stabilized with guy wires. He uses two pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with 600mm zoom, complete with night vision. He's also a budding aviation still photographer, using a Sony DC-10 Mark IV for close-ups of planes taking off against Rainier, which he shares on his website and Instagram. In just a few weeks, Sutton's YouTube channel has attracted a little over 900 subscribers and 23,000 watch hours. The livestream audience peaked on one recent Saturday with about 1,300 people watching at one time. It has attracted some diehards to a live chat where they comment on types of planes, where they're headed, the view of the mountain and the weather. Sutton said people treat him like a forecaster, asking him when the sun is coming out. One of Mitch Sutton's livestream cameras tethered to roof of his house with Sea-Tac Airport in the distance. (Rainier Aviation Instagram) 'I'm learning a lot about lineups and the different runways, which I didn't know before I started the stream,' he said. 'Obviously, I see it every day, but I didn't know, 16 left, 16 right, 16 center. And if they're coming in from the south, it's 34.' Sutton has a day job as a human resources manager for a non-profit. Launching his livestream has been a heavy lift — waking up at 3:30 in the morning to work on equipment set-up and learn how everything works. He said it's been a ton of research. The payoff could be worth it. Other plane-spotting channels on YouTube have attracted sizable audiences, including Airline Videos, a channel that has more than 800,000 subscribers and includes a livestream from LAX. Creator Kevin Ray — and the worldwide fascination around such content — are the subject of a profile this week in The Hollywood Reporter. A 2024 list in Frommers rounded up 15 of the best airplane livestreams. Isaac Alexander, a chief content officer at Hype Aviation and editor of Jet City Star, said it's amazing to see the growth of plane-spotting channels, and that they're a great way to turn non-aviation people into enthusiasts. Along with passenger planes, people can watch cargo jets come and go and get a sense for how much commerce is operating out of the region. Alexander said there is a decent-sized plane-spotting community in the Seattle area, and multiple Facebook groups devoted to the hobby, with hundreds of members each. 'A great feature with this new livestream is that it's angled to have Mount Rainier center screen,' Alexander said. 'Not many airports globally have a mountain/volcano nearby. Something peaceful about seeing airplanes flying with a large mountain in the background.' Sutton didn't grow up in Seattle, but like a lot of transplants he fell in love with the beauty of the place, and the proximity of Mount Rainier. And he appreciates the 'Jet City' history with Boeing, the Museum of Flight and more. 'I don't think any of us see Rainier and aren't just inspired every time we see it, and feel incredibly lucky to have something like that,' he said. 'And I think it's cool that Seattle really is an aviation city. It's a great place to have a livestream that really represents that.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Planes clip wings at SEA, passengers deplane
Two Alaska Airlines planes clipped wings at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Saturday afternoon, prompting passengers to deplane. According to a statement from the FAA, Alaska Airlines Flights 1190 and 1094 clipped wings in the gate area at SeaTac around 12:15 p.m. Alaska Airlines confirmed that ground-service tugs were pushing back two Alaska Airlines aircraft from their gates when the winglets touched. There were no injuries, but passengers were deplaned as the flights were swapped to other aircraft and departed. Alaska Airlines added, 'We sincerely apologize to our guests for the delay and inconvenience.' The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be investigating.
