Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, lower than one month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images indicating Kilauea had begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater on the volcano’s summit caldera, the agency said.
Kilauea’s summit is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey raised the alert level for Kilauea attributable to signs that magma was moving below the summit surface, a sign that the volcano might erupt.
Kilauea is one in all the world’s most lively volcanoes. It last erupted for 16 months starting in September 2021. For about two weeks starting Nov. 27, Hawaii had two volcanoes spewing lava side by side when Mauna Loa erupted for the primary time in 38 years. Each volcanoes stopped erupting at concerning the same time.
Through the twin eruption, visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were in a position to see lava from each eruptions at the identical time.
“It was a stupendous eruption, and a number of people got to see it, and it didn’t take out any major infrastructure and most significantly, it didn’t affect anybody’s life,” said Ken Hon, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s scientist in charge.
Mauna Loa lava didn’t pose a threat to any communities, but got inside 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) of a major highway connecting the east and west sides of the island. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed greater than 700 residences.
The observatory planned to proceed monitoring the volcanoes for signs of renewed activity. Hon previously said there is usually a three-month “cooling off” period before scientists consider an eruption to be complete.
It was unclear what connection there might be to the volcanoes stopping their eruptions around the identical time. The volcanoes could be seen at the identical time from multiple spots in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near Kilauea’s caldera.
Scientists planned to take a look at data to review the connection between the 2 volcanoes, Hon previously said.
For Native Hawaiians, volcanic eruptions have deep cultural and spiritual significance. During Mauna Loa’s eruption, many Hawaiians took part in cultural traditions, resembling singing, chanting and dancing to honor Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and leaving offerings generally known as “hookupu.”