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Volcano Conference in Portland

This city had a front-row seat to the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.

Volcanologists from all over the world will be gathering in Portland, Ore., for a conference on volcanoes Aug. 14-18, 2017. Emergency managers can attend for a registration fee of $150.

The most dangerous volcano in North America is outside my back door, Mount Rainier sits majestically, waiting to erupt again, at some point in the future. It will be one of those low-frequency, high-impact events that no one ever thinks is going to impact them.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.