At the time of the eruption , most predictions were made similarly to the one before the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens - that a volcano would erupt , but not specifying an exact time . C. Dan Miller of the United States Geological Survey remarked , " We 're able to do a much better job of monitoring the changes that occur at volcanoes as they wake up , but we are still quite a long ways from being able to forecast the time , the magnitude and the character of an eruption . " Since the disaster , research has dramatically improved scientists ' ability to predict volcanic eruptions . Still , there is not a definite method of prediction . Though scientists were able to make accurate eruptions by employing long-period earthquakes , short bursts of seismic energy , to predict the 1990 eruption of Mount Redoubt in Alaska , these events are known to occur at volcanoes that do not erupt as well . In early October 2004 , for example , long-period events took place at Mount St. Helens , only to precede insignificant events
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Galeras tragedy