Nov 28 (Reuters) - Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano, began erupting on Sunday for the first time since 1984, ending its longest quiet period in recorded history.
The night sky above Hawaii's largest island glowed a hellish red as bright, hot lava sprang forth at the volcano's summit at around 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday (0930 GMT Monday).
The lava is contained within the summit and does not threaten Hawaiians living downslope for now, the U.S. Geological Service (USGS) said.
The service warned residents on Monday that volcanic gases and fine ash may drift their way.
Mauna Loa rises 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above the Pacific Ocean, part of the chain of volcanoes that formed the islands of Hawaii. It last erupted in March and April of 1984, sending a flow of lava within 5 miles (8.05 km) of Hilo, the island's largest city.
Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency said it had opened two shelters on the island as a precaution but also emphasized that there are no signs that lava will threaten populated areas and that it had not issued any evacuation orders.
[1/9] Lava is seen at Mauna Loa?s summit region during an eruption as viewed by a remote camera of the U.S. Geological Survey in Hawaii, U.S. November 27, 2022. USGS/Handout via REUTERS 1 2 3 4 5
About half of all recorded eruptions of Mauna Loa had been confined to the summit, the agency said.
[1/14] A vehicle is seen buried in the ash from the Cumbre Vieja volcano in Las Manchas neighbourhood, on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, January 20, 2022. Picture taken January 20, 2022. REUTERS/Borja Suarez 1 2 3 4 5
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Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra and Lisa Shumaker
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
taking_a_deuce on November 28th, 2022 at 15:52 UTC »
FYI: geologist here. Hawaii is a mafic volcano from a hot spot coming through the earth's crust. Because of this, it's not nearly the danger of the volcanos you're all thinking of and comparing to. It will always be a nuisance to the population there but it will never threaten the lives of everyone on the island. It spits lava and gas at a much lower rate such that it can cover a bunch of property in an amount of time allowing for everyone to evacuate.
Felsic volcanos (like Mt St Helen's) are the ones you have to really worry about. They are caused by very different geologic conditions at plate boundaries and can kill people 100's of miles away with catastrophic results. These have blackened the sky of the entire world and resulted in mass extinctions many times in the geologic past.
Alohagrown on November 28th, 2022 at 12:11 UTC »
Sleeping in the opposite direction now so I can see the red glow out my window
alienbanter on November 28th, 2022 at 10:51 UTC »
First time it's erupted since 1984 - hopefully it all stays contained at the summit! Will be interesting to follow! I wish my volcanologist coworkers were awake right now haha
Edit: Going to add that you can keep an eye on updates from the USGS on their Twitter page for volcanoes - https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes?t=oTYDTYh9jByCVrW7-guoIg&s=09