"Hawaiian lava flows have rarely caused human fatalities, but they can cause extensive damage by covering, burning, and crushing anything in their paths, or starting secondary fires," according to the USGS, which noted that when lava hits the water, the result "can also sometimes be explosive in coastal environments. Mauna Loa has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby. In the other cases, the lava spilled over into one of the rift zones, producing flows that covered broad swaths of the volcano's lower slopes. In about half of the previous eruptions, the lava remained in the summit region, which rises about 55,700 feet above its base. It is one of six volcanoes in Hawaii, according to the agency. Mauna Loa, which means "Long Mountain," covers half the island, according to the USGS.īefore Sunday, geologists had recorded 33 eruptions since 1843, making Mauna Loa among the world's most active volcanoes. ![]() In the lead-up to the eruption, residents gathered in the towns of Pahala and Ocean View in October to discuss possible evacuation plans. The northeast rift zone eruption of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, from a Civil Air Patrol flight by USGS. That prompted Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to close the summit area. The USGS previously said “heightened unrest” at the volcano began in mid-September, when earthquakes beneath the summit increased from 10 to 20 a day to 40 to 50 a day. The recent eruption followed weeks of warnings from officials that a blast was imminent following a spike in earthquakes at the volcano’s summit and that Big Island residents should be prepared to evacuate if necessary, NBC affiliate KHNL of Hawaii reported. "Winds may carry volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s hair downwind," the agency said, referring to a type of lava. The eruption began at the summit in Moku‘āweoweo and soon spread to what is known as the Northeast Rift Zone, "where fissures are feeding several lava flows." It was the first eruption since 1984, according to its Hawaii Volcano Observatory daily update. Mauna Loa, which is in Hawaii Volcanos National Park, erupted at 11:30 p.m. The northeast rift zone eruption of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, from a Civil Air Patrol flight by the U.S. Most of the people on the island live west of the volcano in Kailua-Kona, which has about 23,000 people, and Hilo to the east, which has 45,000 residents.īut 5,000 people live in several subdivisions south of the volcano - and they are the residents officials are most concerned about. We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world. “We have to let it actually show us what it’s going to do and then we inform people of what is happening ASAP.” Read the latest volcano activity updates around the world. ![]() “We don’t want to try and second-guess the volcano,” Hon said. The bodies of 11 climbers have been found following the eruption of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano, while a search to find 12 more missing people has been halted temporarily over safety concerns.
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