The world’s largest active volcano, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, has started to erupt for the first time in nearly four decades, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall, nearby authorities said on Monday.
It is becoming highly dangerous because the volcano eruption makes the lava flow around the area. The lava contains sulfur dioxide and other hazardous gases. This has created smog which is covering the sky above.
The USGS warned that residents at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows should review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.
The volcanoes neighbor Kilauea has been erupting continuously throughout the year since September 2021. There are 5 such volcanoes that together form the Hawaii island.
It was reported that the eruption began at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday in Mokuaweoweo the summit caldera of the Mauna Loa volcano inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island.
The eruption still continues as of 2:43 a.m. local time according to the latest Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Status Report from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and lava flowing in the summit region is visible from Kona.
Rift zone where the mountain is splitting apart, the rock is cracked and relatively weak, and is easier for magma to emerge, according to the Associated Press has no indication of any migration of eruption into rift zone.
The updates state that Volcano Alert Level and Aviation Color Code for Mauna Loa remain at Warning or Red alert. HVO is continuing to monitor conditions carefully and will issue additional notice there if needed.
Portions of the Big Island were under an ashfall advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu said up to a quarter-inch of ash could accumulate in some areas.
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
Mauna Loa, rising 13,679 feet above sea level, is the much larger neighbor to Kilauea volcano, which erupted in a residential neighborhood and destroyed 700 homes in 2018. Some of its slopes are much steeper than Kilauea’s so when it erupts, its lava can flow much faster.
During a 1950 eruption, the mountain’s lava traveled 15 miles to the ocean in less than three hours.
“Based on past events, the early stages of a Mauna Loa eruption can be very dynamic and the location and advancement of lava flows can change rapidly,”
“If the eruption remains in Moku’aweoweo, lava flows will most likely be confined within the caldera walls. However, if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope.”
THE USGS SAID SUNDAY NIGHT
Even though the necessary steps are being taken the risk that the lava will soon spur all over the place continues and has to be looked after. The fact that the lava has still not entered the residential areas is a little relieving but it cannot be claimed that it will not enter the area and hence there has to be some rapid action on the same.
