Twin quakes shake Mount St. Helens region

February 14, 2011 –MT ST. HELENS – Two earthquakes hit the Mt. St. Helens area Monday morning, and one was strong enough to felt in the Portland Vancouver area. KATU has received reports from viewers in the Portland area that the 10:35 a.m. temblor, including one that said the building she was in had a good shaking. The initial quake measured 3.5 and was followed by a 2.5., but then the first quake was re-evaluated as a 4.3 – a fairly robust temblor. A 2.3 aftershock struck just before noon. Quakes are now measured on a “magnitude scale” instead of the Richter Scale, according to KATU News Meteorologist Dave Salesky. Mt. St. Helens and the Northwest in general is a quake-prone area due to the volcanic forces deep underground. The crustal movement of tectonic places under our feet produces both earthquakes and volcanoes.The West Coast of the United States is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an earthquake and volcano-prone series of faults the encircles a large part of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is believed by seismologists that the Northwest is due for a large earthquake that could devastate cities. –KATU

This is more evidence that tectonic plates across the globe are on the move and the planet’s geological dynamics is now entering a new period of change.