In Pics | Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts after a three-month pause
Kilauea volcano eruption
Kilauea volcano in Hawaii started erupting again on Wednesday, June 7, after a three months’ pause. The images captured via webcam show fissures at the base of the crater generating lava flows on the crater floor’s surface. (Screen grab source - AP/USGS)
No threat to infrastructure or people
All eruption activity was within a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The area is at a safe distance from people and infrastructures on the Big Island of Hawaii. (Screen grab source - AP/USGS)
Observatory issues eruption warnings
The US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said that it observed increased earthquake activities and changes in the patterns of ground deformation on Tuesday night. These changes are very indicative of the movement of magma in the subsurface. After recording these changes, the observatory issued an eruption warning. (Screen grab source- AP/USGS)
Not a rift eruption!
Mike Zoeller, a geologist with the observatory, said, “We’re not seeing any signs of activity out on the rift zones right now. There’s no reason to expect this to transition into a rift eruption that would threaten any communities here on the island with lava flows or anything like that.” (Screen grab source - AP/USGS)
Robust fountains of molten lava
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokesperson Jessica Ferracane said, “The lava this morning is all confined within the summit caldera. So, plenty of room for it still to produce more without threatening any homes or infrastructure. Kilauea overlook was spectacular this morning. It was molten red lava. There’s several areas of pretty robust fountaining. It’s just really, really pretty.” (Screen grab source- AP/USGS)
Tourists come to see the volcanic activities
Earlier, Mauna Loa, the world’s biggest volcano and Kilauea’s neighbour, had erupted for several weeks in 2022, after being inactive for four decades. Kilauea, which is much smaller than Mauna Loa, is far more active.
Hawaii’s Big Island gets regular tourist visits, who come to see the volcanic eruption activities. During her interaction with the media, Jessica stated that the park officials were getting ready to welcome hordes of crowd that would come to look at the Kilauean volcanic eruptions. (Screen grab source - AP/USGS)
Kilauea - most active volcano
Kilauea is one of six active volcanoes on the Hawaiian islands. It erupted almost continuously between 1983 and 2019. (Screen grab source AP/USGS)
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