Jindal's Remarks on Volcano Monitoring Ignorant

Posted by Alexandra Matiella Novak Feb 26, 2009

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's remarks about the stimulus package Tuesday night was aired immediately after Pres. Obama's address to Congress. Part of those remarks illustrate how Jindal has absolutely no idea how important natural hazard mitigation is. If I were a citizen of Louisiana, a recent victim of one of the most devastating natural disasters in the U.S., I'd be really nervous right now.

These comments came when Jindal tried to convince the American people that allocating $140 million to the U.S. Geological Survey, some of it for volcano monitoring, was an example of "questionable spending". He goes so far as to say, "Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington."

Umm, excuse me? Does Jindal not realize that volcanic eruptions are among the deadliest natural hazards on Earth? Does he not realize that the U.S. is home to multiple active and very deadly volcanoes?

I'll give you a nightmare scenario that could very easily play out in this country: A volcano covered with snow has a small eruption. This small eruption goes unnoticed, but the deadliest consequence is just beginning to make its way down the volcano's flanks and valleys - this small eruption has melted snow at the top of the volcano causing a massive mudslide, or lahar, that contains everything from loose sediment to huge boulders.

Cities and villages nestled in the volcano's valleys are not warned of these deadly lahars. Without any warning, the lahar rages into these populated areas, smashing homes and burying everything it flows over in a hot thick sludge.

This scenario played out in 1985. The town of Armero, Columbia was swept away in the middle of the night by a lahar produced by a small eruption of Nevado del Ruiz Volcano. By the time the sun rose the next day, over 23,000 people had lost their lives. Men, women and children; the volcano did not care.

This exact same kind of disaster could very easily play out right here on American soil. CNN reports that one of the people most disturbed by Jindal's comments is Royce Pollard, the mayor of Vancouver, Washington. Washington is home to many active volcanoes belonging to the Cascade Volcanic Range. Mt. St. Helens is one of the more well-known volcanoes in this range, but right now, one of the deadliest is Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Rainier, very much like Nevado del Ruiz, is covered with snow. There are also many populated centers that live in the lower regions of valleys that drain off of Mt. Rainier. Some are smaller, like the city of Orting, Washington which has a population of about 7,000. Some are larger cities, like Tacoma, Washington, which has a population of almost 200,000.

Here's the most alarming fact about these two cities: they are both built directly on top of ancient Mt. Rainier lahar deposits. Lahars that were so massive, they emptied out into Puget sound nearly 50 miles away. If lahars from thousands of years ago could bury these areas, no doubt any lahar in the future has the potential to do the same.

In order to prevent a major disaster like the one in the town of Armero, Columbia, or more recently in New Orleans, the government needs to invest money into natural hazard mitigation. Not only will this money help to motivate the exact kind of research that saves lives, but the economy is stimulated by creating jobs and paying scientists to do this research.

No doubt, a stimulus for the USGS is absolutely a stimulus for our economy and has the added benefit of protecting American lives.