HONOLULU (AP) — Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, began erupting Wednesday after a three-month hiatus, displaying spectacular fountains of lush, glowing lava a safe distance from the people and buildings of Big Island National Park.
The US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said a glow was detected in webcam footage from Kilauea Peak early in the morning, indicating an eruption in the caldera’s summit caldera’s Haleyamaumau crater.
The observatory said the images show cracks at the base of the crater, which generated lava flows on the surface of the crater floor.
Avant de publier l’avis d’éruption, l’observatoire a declared qu’une augmentation of l’activity sismique and des changes in les modèles de deformation du sol au sommet ont commencé mardi soir, indiquant le mouvement du magma à l’interieur in Earth.
“We don’t see any signs of activity in the fault zones at this time,” said Mike Zoeller, an observatory geologist. “There is no reason to expect this to turn into a volcanic eruption that would threaten all communities here on the island with pyroclastic flows or anything like that.”
All activities took place in an enclosed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
“The lava this morning is trapped within … the top of the caldera. There is still plenty of opportunity for it to produce more without threatening homes or infrastructure,” said park spokeswoman Jessica Viraken. “That’s exactly how we like our eruptions here. »
She said park officials are preparing for the crowds’ arrival because visitors can view the eruption from many locations.
“The view of Kilauea was amazing this morning,” she said of the vast lava lake. “It was red molten lava. There are many areas with very powerful fountains. It is really beautiful.”
The lava lake, which covers the floor of the crater above lava left by previous eruptions, was about 371 acres (150 hectares) across, Zwiller said, around 6 a.m. It is about 4,300 feet (1,300 metres) wide.
The news leaked out and parking lots started filling up at the park, Virakani said, adding that she expected long lines to enter the park in the evening.
The park is open 24 hours a day, Viraken said, and visitors can beat the crowds by visiting between 9 p.m. and sunrise.
He reminded visitors to stay away from enclosed areas and stay on marked paths for safety reasons, including avoiding a gas explosion.
Residents of Pahala, 30 kilometers downwind from Kilauea Peak, have reported a very light dusting of fine ash and “granite hairs” — glass particles that form when lava erupts from a fissure and cools rapidly — named after the Hawaiian goddess. says the observatory.
Two small earthquakes rocked Janice Wei. As a volunteer park photographer who lives in the nearby town of Vulcano, she was able to see the fountains, which she estimated were about 150 feet (46 m) high around 4:30 in the morning.
She said she saw about 15 fountains coming out by mid-morning.
The fountain’s height decreased from 13 to 30 feet (4 meters to 9 meters) in the afternoon, according to the observatory.
Red flares can be seen in a live USGS feed Wednesday afternoon.
The volcano alert level was raised to warning status and the aviation color code turned red as scientists assessed the eruption and associated risks.
Kilauea volcano, the second largest volcano in Hawaii, erupted from September 2021 until last December. For about two weeks in December, Hawaii’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, erupted on the Big Island of Hawaii.
After a short hiatus, Kilauea began to erupt again in January. This eruption lasted 61 days and ended in March.
This eruption looks very similar, Zoeller said: “This eruption follows a very similar book to three eruptions we’ve seen here since 2020.”
The Kilauea volcano eruption in 2018 destroyed more than 700 homes.
Before the main eruption in 2018, Kilauea had been erupting since 1983, and lava flows sometimes covered farms and homes. During this time, lava sometimes reached the ocean, causing exciting interactions with the water.
Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.
