Mt. St. Helens undergoing more indigestion

Earthquake activity is up once again at Mt. St. Helens in southern Washington state, but according to geologists, there is no reason to raise the volcanic alert level -- at present.

Scientists said earthquake activity had been low until Friday, indicating molten rock was moving upward with little resistance. By Saturday, however, quakes of magnitude 2.4 were occurring every one to two minutes, they said.

"It's at levels equal to or higher than the Oct. 5 steam and ash eruption," said Jeff Wynn, the U.S. Geological Survey's chief scientist for volcano hazards at Vancouver.

A bubble on the south side of the dome has also risen to at least 330 feet since scientists first spotted it on Sept. 30 and is now almost as tall as the dome's 1,000-foot summit, said USGS geologist John Pallister.

Some people are speculating that a blast rivalling the 1980 eruption that killed 57 people. Scientists with the US Geological Survey are discounting that possibility at present. But they are keeping an eye on the seismograph and on the summit of the volcano.

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