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Lava flows into the Halema’uma’u crater of the Kilauea volcano.
The Kilauea volcano on the Big Island erupted and released a cloud of steam and ash into the atmosphere that lasted about an hour, an official with the National Weather Service said early Monday (NZT Tuesday).
The eruption began Sunday night (Monday NZT) inside the Kilauea summit crater, the United States Geological Survey said.
The crater, called Halemaumau, sits within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and was home to a long-standing lava lake that was present for years before a 2018 eruption caused it to drain.
Tom Birchard, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Hawaii, said the lava interacted with a pool of water that had collected within the crater, causing a short-lived but fairly vigorous eruption.
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When lava interacts with water, it can cause explosive reactions. All the water evaporated out of the lake and a cloud of vapor shot about 9 kilometers into the atmosphere, Birchard said.
The water was the first recorded in the crater at the top of the Kilauea volcano.
In 2019, after a week of questions about a mysterious green spot at the bottom of the volcano’s crater, researchers confirmed the presence of water. The lake had continued to fill ever since. The Honolulu National Weather Service issued a warning, warning of ashfall from the volcano.
Excessive exposure to ash is an irritant to the eyes and respiratory tract, he said. Later, the agency said the eruption was subsiding and a “low-level vapor cloud” persisted in the area.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said in a telephone interview that volcanic activity is a risk to people in the park and caution is needed.
“It is quite spectacular this morning,” he said, “but there are large amounts of dangerous sulfur dioxide gas and particles that are coming out of the crater right now and they pose a danger to everyone, especially people with heart or respiratory problems.” babies, young children and pregnant women. “
He also said that cars line up at the park entrance to catch a glimpse of lava. “There are many cars waiting on Crater Rim Drive to go out to the Kilauea lookout. People should wait long waits to park, ”he said.
USGS.gov
The Kilauea volcano erupts on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Ferracane also said that people should be aware of the coronavirus pandemic and take steps to stay safe. “We are not controlling the crowds yet, but that could happen,” he said. “At this time, we urge people to wear a mask to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Last night we saw several visitors unmasked. “
At 1 a.m. (local time), USGS officials told Hawaii News Now that lava fountains were reported shooting about 50 meters into the sky.
David Phillips, a spokesman for the Hawaii Volcanic Observatory, said the agency was monitoring the “rapidly evolving” situation. “We will send out more notifications about Kilauea and other Hawaiian volcanoes as we observe changes,” he said.
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake occurred about an hour after the volcano began to erupt.
The USGS said it received more than 500 reports from people who felt the earthquake, but no significant damage to buildings or structures was expected. Kilauea last erupted in 2018, destroying more than 700 homes and spewing enough lava to fill 320,000 Olympic swimming pools. An area more than half the size of Manhattan was buried in up to 24 meters of now hardened lava.
Lava flowed over the course of four months, and the 2018 eruption occurred along a rift zone on the flank of the volcano where many residential neighborhoods had developed. Last night’s eruption was contained in the summit caldera within the national park. The volcano had not erupted since 2018, but previously had active lava flows for more than three decades. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
