After a three-month break, Kilauea, the second-largest volcano in Hawaii, started erupting on Wednesday, according to US Geological Survey authorities.
In a statement, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the survey noted that early in the morning, a glow could be seen in webcam photos from Kilauea’s summit, indicating that an eruption was taking place inside the Halema’uma’u crater at the summit caldera.
As scientists assessed the eruption and accompanying risks, the volcano’s alert level was upgraded to warning status, and the aviation color code changed to red.
According to the observatory, the photographs demonstrate how lava flows are produced on the crater floor by fractures at the crater’s base.
Increased earthquake activity and changes in ground deformation patterns at the summit began Tuesday night, according to the observatory, which indicated the flow of magma in the subsurface before issuing the eruption signal.
All activities on Hawaii’s Big Island are restricted to a section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
One of the most active volcanoes in the world, Kilauea, erupted from September 2021 through December of last year. Hawaii’s largest volcano, Mauna Loa, erupted on Hawaii’s Big Island for roughly two weeks in December.
In January, Kilauea started to erupt once more following a brief respite. It ended in March after a 61-day eruption.
More than 700 homes were destroyed during the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
Kilauea had been erupting since 1983, and streams of lava had periodically engulfed fields and houses before the massive 2018 eruption. The lava occasionally made it to the ocean during that time, resulting in great interactions with the water.
