부산대학교 도서관

The Mount St. Helens eruption on May 18, 1980 with subsequent ash fall, flooding, and potential long-term threat created a unique chance to study the behavioral responses to disaster. Many factors contributed to this scientific opportunity. This was a disaster of significant proportion with potentially serious consequences to life, health, and property, especially in Cowlitz County, Washington, immediately to the west of Mount St. Helens. While a major volcanic eruption is uncommon in the continental U.S., the periodic or persistent threat of flooding became the greatest concern from this event, giving this disaster generic characteristics similar to many others. Since Mount St. Helens and other northwest volcanoes lie in close proximity to major population centers, there was considerable interest in the scientific community to record and study the health effects associated with the eruption. With the funding of the research consortium for the study of Biological Effects of Volcanic Ash, there was an opportunity to investigate the mental health consequences of the Mount St. Helens eruption on a community-wide basis. This article reviews the theoretical model and methodology for this psychiatric disaster study and presents preliminary findings.