This is a question about the people below Mt. Rainier.

One thing I wonder about in the case of Mt. Rainier blowing her top is the extent of the lahar flows. I am assuming that it will follow the rivers. And it may depend on how bad it is, and if the eruption and/or the flow is "tilted" in one direction or another.

Looking at a map, the two main rivers (toward populated areas) are the Puyallup, aimed toward Tacoma, and the Nisqually, aimed toward Olympia.

Has anyone run across any info on the likelihood of how far the lahar might travel? Could it make it to the Sound? How fast would it be expected to travel? I understand that they don't really expect lava, due to the multiple glaciers, but the mud and debris would be awful, I would think.

I used to have a marked website for this kind of disaster in this area, but it didn't seem to give much info on what to expect and where to expect it.

I'm not in line with the rivers, but I'd like to know where they would expect the majority of flow. With my luck, I'd probably be on my way south from Seattle.... <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Sue