Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, less than a month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped spewing lava.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images that showed Kilauea had begun to erupt inside Halemaumau Crater in the volcano’s summit caldera, the agency said.
Kilauea’s summit is within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities.
Earlier Thursday, the US Geological Survey raised the alert level for Kilauea due to signs that magma was moving beneath the summit’s surface, an indication that the volcano could erupt.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It last erupted for 16 months starting in September 2021. For about two weeks starting on November 27, Hawaii had two volcanoes spewing lava side by side when Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years. Both volcanoes stopped erupting at about the same time.
During the twin eruption, visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were able to see lava from both eruptions at the same time.
“It was a beautiful eruption, and a lot of people saw it, and it didn’t take out any major infrastructure and most importantly, it didn’t affect anyone’s lives,” said Ken Hon, the scientist in charge of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. .
Mauna Loa’s lava did not pose a threat to any communities, but it reached 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) from a major highway connecting the east and west sides of the island. A 2018 eruption at Kilauea destroyed more than 700 homes.
The observatory planned to continue monitoring the volcanoes for signs of renewed activity. Hon previously said there is generally a three-month “cooling off” period before scientists consider a full eruption.
It was unclear what this might have to do with the volcanoes stopping their eruptions at the same time. The volcanoes can be seen simultaneously from multiple points in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near the Kilauea caldera.
Scientists planned to look at the data to study the relationship between the two volcanoes, said Hon.
For native Hawaiians, volcanic eruptions have deep cultural and spiritual significance. During the eruption of Mauna Loa, many Hawaiians participated in cultural traditions, such as singing, chanting and dancing to honor Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and leaving offerings known as “hookupu”.
