Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting on Sunday night with lava flowing from its summit by Monday morning, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The lava wasn’t expected to threaten populated areas, officials said.
“Lava flows are not threatening any downslope communities and all indications are that the eruption will remain in the north-east rift zone,” the USGS said in a statement.
CBS News reported that the Hawaii Volcano Observatory scientist in charge, Ken Hon, said that the lava flow was not expected to reach the south-east rift zone, which is more populated.
“As far as we know, in any historic precedent, there has never been an eruption of Mauna Loa that activated both rift zones at the same time or during the same eruption,” Hon said.
“So we presume at this point that all of the future activity is going to be on the north-east rift zone and not on the south-east rift zone. So those residents in that area do not have to worry about lava flows.”
According to the USGS, the Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843, with the last eruption in 1984, when lava spilt down its slopes and came within 7km of the small town of Hilo.
Hon said the lava flow is very similar to the lava flow from the 1984 eruption and could potentially threaten populated areas around Hilo
“We’re looking for somewhere around a week before we expect lava to get anywhere near that direction,” he said.
“We’re hoping that it will parallel the 1984 eruption in becoming more viscous as time goes on and hitting flatter slopes that slow it down, and this actually prevented the lava from getting into Hilo.”
He added that “only a couple of eruptions” have made it into the outskirts and reached Hilo.
“We’re hoping that while this lava flow will be a big, spectacular event, it occupies a fairly small proportion of the island, and hopefully it will have relatively minor effects on the residents and visitors of the island,” Hon said.
Still, the agency warned all residents on Hawaii Island who are “at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows” to “review preparedness and refer to Hawaii County Civil Defence information for further guidance”.
The early stages of an eruption can be dynamic, the agency warned, adding that “lava flows can change rapidly”.
Residents were also warned that volcanic gas, ash and thin glass fibres known as Pele’s hair could be carried downwind.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said it was “in close consultation with emergency management partners” and would be monitoring the volcano closely to provide further updates on activity.
IOL