Scientists took several elements into account when making that prediction. First and most important of all, was the mountain’s history. Mount Redoubt did the same about 20 years ago. It erupted and exploded from December 1989 to April 1990 and then fell into what experts call “dome-building” only to erupt again soon. 

 

The dome formed by the hardened lava causes pressure from heat and gas inside the volcano to build which then causes the brittle to collapse and be send high into the sky by the venting volcano. 

 

"The seismicity last night and this morning is consistent with this continual dome growth at the volcano," said AVO geophysicist Stephanie Prejean. 

 

The problem is that the dome-building phase is very unpredictably and things can happen very quickly, leaving authorities with little or no time to warn the population. 

 

Meanwhile, concerns are growing about the fact that the eruption and the mudslides it includes may pose a real danger to a nearby oil terminal which houses about 6,000,000 gallons of crude oil.  

 

The tons of mud that flowed after the volcano erupted downed hundreds of trees and filled the Drift River Valley with debris, according to USGS’ Kristy Wallace. Eleven people were evacuated on Monday from the drift River Terminal. 

 

According to the latest media reports on this issue, the storage tanks are not damaged. "The tank farm is entirely intact, no sheen or spill has been sighted," Coast Guard spokeswoman Sara Francis said.