The Kilauea volcano, renowned as one of the world’s most active volcanoes, began erupting on Monday in an area that last saw activity half a century ago, according to the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The fissure system, extending approximately 0.6 miles (1 km) in length, is spewing lava with a low eruptive volume in a remote location, posing no immediate threat to human life or critical infrastructure. According to alerts from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), it released bright red lava from half-mile-long fissures.
Click here to watch the video of the Kilauea volcano exploding!
“This was a real sneaky eruption,” said Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the USGS Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory, in an interview with Hawaii News Now. The eruption occurred in a remote section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park that is not accessible to the public, posing no immediate threat to people or critical infrastructure, as confirmed by a USGS update later in the day.
This part of Kilauea volcano had last erupted approximately 50 years ago. Hon detailed the sequence of events leading up to the eruption, explaining that monitoring began around noon on Sunday. “We woke up to a very quiet, peaceful Sunday morning. About noon, all of our seismometers started to hit the gas, and then by three o’clock, they were floorboard. Pretty much the seismometers were going pretty nuts around the summit,” he said. The eruption commenced shortly after midnight, Hawaii time.
Kilauea volcano, recognized as one of the most active volcanoes globally, is situated on Hawaii’s Big Island. Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth reassured residents, stating that eruptions within the national park are a common occurrence. “People just need to realize this is in one of the safest places it could have happened,” Roth told The Associated Press, emphasizing that no property was in danger. However, Roth expressed some concern about air quality in two nearby communities due to volcanic gases.
A Facebook post from the national park reiterated the absence of danger to visitors, though it noted the closure of one trail. “No safe lava-viewing locations have been established at this time,” the post added.
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