The Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano fired lava fountains up to 200 feet high and generated rivers of molten rock, US geologists reported Tuesday. Three fissures have opened in the world’s largest active volcano, which erupted Sunday night for the first time in nearly 40 years.
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Huge clouds of steam and smoke erupted from the volcano that occupies half of the Big Island of the archipelago.
“The tallest sources reach between 30 and 60 meters, but many are only a few meters high,” the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said Monday. “There is a gas cloud visible from the sources and lava flows from the erupting fissures, and it’s mainly being pushed to the northwest.”
Geologists say people and property in the area under the eruption are not at risk for now. “The lava flows from the two highest fissures are moving downslope but are stopped about 10 kilometers from Saddle Road (the main road at the foot of the north flank of the mountain).”
The lava coming out of the third fissure at about 3,000 meters was also far from the road. But the authorities warn that Mauna Loa is a dynamic volcano, and they reported a fourth fissure in the last few hours. “Additional fissures could open up in the Northeast Fault Zone, and lava flows could continue downslope.”
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Mauna Loa has built up pressure for years, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which reported that the eruption was visible from Kona, a town on the west coast of the main island of the archipelago, about 72 kilometers from distance.
Although the lava still does not threaten the population, specialists warn that winds can carry volcanic gas, fine ash, and basalt glass strands downhill known as Pele’s hair.
These threads, which can measure up to two meters, are formed when skeins of lava cool rapidly in the air. They were named after Pele, the goddess of volcanoes in Hawaii. They can be very sharp and present a potential eye and skin injury hazard.
‘big mountain’
Authorities in Hawaii have not issued evacuation orders, despite the fact that the summit area and several highways in the region were closed. Two shelters were opened as a precaution.
Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth by volume. Its name means ‘Big Mountain’ and it covers half of the Big Island and is larger than the rest of the Hawaiian Islands combined.
The submarine flanks of the volcano extend for several kilometers to an ocean floor which, in turn, is depressed by the great mass of Mauna Loa, causing its summit to be about 17 kilometers above its base, according to the USGS.
One of six active volcanoes in the Hawaiian archipelago, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843, according to the USGS. The most recent eruption, in 1984, lasted 22 days and produced lava flows that reached as far as four miles from Hilo, a city currently home to about 44,000 people.
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Kilauea, a volcano located on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa, erupted almost continuously between 1983 and 2019. A small eruption has been taking place there for months.
AFP
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