WORLD’S LARGEST VOLCANO ERUPTS IN HAWAII

The world’s largest volcano erupted for the first time in 40 years, spewing hot lava and ash on Monday in a spectacular display of nature’s fury at Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

Rivers of molten rock could be seen atop the volcano, spewing huge clouds of steam and smoke on top of the Big Island and warning that the situation could change quickly.

Pressure on Mauna Loa has been building for years, according to the USGS, according to the USGS, which said the eruption could be seen from 45 miles (72 kilometers) away in the town of Kona on the island’s west coast. Hawaii main.

The eruption, which began shortly before midnight Sunday, was initially contained by a caldera, a concave region at the top of the volcano, but volcanologists said Monday that lava was now flowing from fissures on one side.

“The Mauna Loa eruption moved from the summit to the northeast rift zone, where the fissures are feeding several lava flows,” the USGS website says.

The agency said there is currently no threat to people living below the eruption zone, but warned that the volcano is unstable.

“Based on past events, the early stages of an eruption in the Mauna Loa rift zone can be highly dynamic, and the location and progression of lava flows can change rapidly.”

Experts also warned that the winds could carry volcanic gas and fine ash downslope, as well as Pele’s Hair, the name given to the thin strands of volcanic glass that form when balls of lava cool rapidly in midair.

Named for Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, the threads can be very sharp and potentially dangerous to the skin and eyes.

• “Long Mountain” –
  Hawaii authorities have not issued evacuation orders, though the summit area and several roads in the region have been closed, and two shelters have been opened as a precaution.

An ashfall warning was issued downwind of the volcano, and a small buildup of ash was expected on ships in oceanic waters along the southeastern Big Island.

Volcanologist Robin George Andrews said the eruption was initially contained but is now spreading.

“Yuck. Now lava is erupting from fresh vents in the slopes along Mauna Loa’s Northeast Rift Zone, or NERZ. This gives the eruption a dangerous new dimension,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The fact that this is a dangerous mountain that hasn’t erupted since 1984, the longest pause in eruptions in its recorded history, is why we all need to keep an eye on it.”

But Andrews predicted that unless the lava flow rate increases dramatically, the northeastern city of Hilo, home to about 44,000 people, “will be fine.”

The largest volcano on Earth by volume, Mauna Loa, whose name means “long mountain,” covers half of the Big Island and more than the rest of the Hawaiian Islands combined.

According to the US Geological Survey, the volcano’s underwater slopes extend for many miles to the bottom of the ocean, which in turn is pressured by the enormous mass of Mauna Loa, making its top about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) higher than its base. .

One of six active volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843.

Its last eruption, in 1984, lasted 22 days and produced lava flows that came within four miles of Hilo.

Kilauea, a volcano on Mauna Loa’s southeast flank, erupted almost continuously between 1983 and 2019, and a small eruption has been ongoing here for several months.