[TRANSCRIPT]

Melissa Yingst Huber

More than 130 miniature earthquakes have occurred at Mount St. Helens in Washington State in the last two months. That is around 40 earthquakes per week. Most of the earthquakes have been measured at less than a 0.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, with the largest being at 1.3. They’ve been so small that citizens wouldn’t be able to feel them on the surface.

The earthquakes have been arriving frequently since March 14 and the frequency has kept the attention of scientists. All of the data that they’ve collected from the earthquakes has allowed them to come to the conclusion that the volcano is alive, but there are no signs that it will erupt in the near future. However, it does look like the volcano is repressurizing the magma it holds.

The last time Mount St. Helens erupted was in 2008.