One of the most active volcanos on Earth is erupting on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island has erupted after hours of increased activity, according to officials at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The alert level has been raised to the highest level but there is no immediate threat to populated areas.
The eruption began at about 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday when the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) detected a glow while looking at webcam images from the volcano’s summit. Lava became visible a short time later and the eruption appeared to intensify around 7 p.m.
The eruption is taking place within the Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera, which is part of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, according to an advisory from the USGS, which raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest level.
“Webcam imagery shows fissures at the base of Halemaʻumaʻu crater generating lava flows on the surface of the lava lake that was active until May 2021,” the advisory said. It added that the initial activity was confined to the Halemaʻumaʻu crater.
At about 4:43 p.m., another fissure opened up on the west wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and tephra was falling downwind of the erupting vents. Large amounts of volcanic gas – primarily water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) – was also visible.
“The US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) is elevating Kīlauea’s volcano alert level from WATCH to WARNING and its aviation color code from ORANGE to RED as this new eruption and associated hazards are evaluated,” the advisory said.
Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed Wednesday that an eruption has begun in Kilauea’s Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit.
The eruption is not in an area with homes and is entirely contained within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Earlier Wednesday, officials said increased earthquake activity and ground swelling had been detected, and at that time raised the alert levels accordingly.
Kilauea had a major eruption in 2018 that destroyed scores of homes and displaced thousands of residents. Before that eruption, the volcano had been slowly erupting for decades, but not in residential areas. The same area of the volcano that began erupting Wednesday also erupted in December and lasted until May.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said that she had not yet arrived at the park, but that colleagues reported seeing some lava spatter and glow within the summit crater.
“He saw that from Volcano House, which is at least 2 miles away from the eruption site, so I suspect … we’ll be able to see a pretty glow, and who knows what else,” she said.
The Volcano House is a hotel and restaurant within the national park adjacent to the visitor center. The park is open to visitors.
Ferracane said the area that is erupting is not close to where people can hike or drive. Trails downwind from the eruption have been closed for years.
“The park is open and there are no road closures at this time,” Ferracane said
The Hawaii Red Cross said it is monitoring the eruption. “At this time there is no threat to populated areas of Hawai’i island. We will be monitoring the event as it progresses,” the organization said in a statement.
