Kilauea, Hawaii’s second-largest volcano, began erupting Wednesday after a three-month hiatus, US Geological Survey officials said.
In a statement, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said a glow was detected in webcam images of Kilauea’s summit early in the morning, indicating that an eruption was occurring inside the Halema’uma’u crater in the summit caldera.
The observatory said the images show cracks on the crater’s floor that generate lava flows on the surface of the crater’s floor.
Before issuing an eruption advisory, the observatory said increased seismic activity and a change in ground deformation patterns at the summit began late Tuesday, indicating magma moving underground.
On the Big Island of Hawaii, all activity takes place within an enclosed area of ​​Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The volcano’s alert level has been raised to alert status and the aviation color code has been changed to red as scientists assess the eruption and associated hazards.
Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted from September 2021 until last December. For about two weeks in December, Hawaii’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, was also erupting on the Big Island of Hawaii.
After a brief hiatus, Kilauea erupted again in January. That eruption lasted 61 days and ended in March.
The Kilauea eruption in 2018 destroyed more than 700 homes. On March 7 of this year, officials reported the end of the last eruption after 61 days of activity.
Prior to the major 2018 eruption, Kilauea had been erupting since 1983, with lava occasionally covering fields and homes. During that time, the lava sometimes reached the ocean, causing dramatic interactions with the water.
(With inputs from AP)
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