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Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years, sending ash and debris down nearby, authorities said on Monday.
The Big Island Volcano’s crest vent began to erupt late Sunday night, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Earlier on Monday, it said the lava flow was contained within the summit area and did not threaten nearby communities.
“However, magma The water flow in the Peak District can be seen from Kona. There is currently no indication that the eruption will migrate to the rift zone,” the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said in a statement. A rift zone is where a mountain range breaks open, and the rock is cracked and relatively fragile, more prone to magma.
USGS spokesman Miel Corbett said it was impossible to predict the timing of the eruption and whether it would cause lava to flow to populated areas of the island.
“But I can tell you that we are in constant communication with the Hawaii Civil Defense right now and they are providing updates to community members,” she said.
While there were no signs of lava flowing from the summit, the Civil Defense agency said it had opened shelters in Kailua-Kona and Pajara as it reported people on the South Kona Coast were evacuating themselves. “Multiple images have emerged on social media showing lava activity outside the crater. At present, it has not been confirmed that lava has migrated to the rift zone,” a statement said. The USGS is warning residents at risk of lava flows from Mauna Loa should check their eruption preparations. Scientists have been on alert because of the most recent seismic surge at the top of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu issued an ash warning for parts of the Big Island, saying up to a quarter of an inch (0.6 centimeters) of ash could accumulate in some areas. Mauna Loa is one of the five volcanoes that make up the Big Island, the southernmost island of the Hawaiian Islands.
At 13,679 feet (4,169 meters), Mauna Loa is a much larger neighbor than Kilauea, which erupted in residential areas in 2018 and destroyed 700 homes. Some of its slopes are much steeper than Kilauea’s, so when it erupts, its lava flows faster.
During a 1950 eruption, lava from the mountain traveled 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the ocean in less than three hours.
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