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Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano suddenly begins erupting after months of quiet

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Social Links for Alex Oliveira
Published June 3, 2024, 4:56 p.m. ET

Hawaii’s most active volcano began erupting Monday after months of dormancy, prompting officials to warn residents of possible danger from airborne hazards.

Kīlauea volcano, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, began erupting around 12:30 a.m. Monday at a point about 2.5 miles from the mountain’s caldera, according to the United States Geological Survey.

“This was a real sneaky eruption,” Ken Hon, the USGS Scientist-in-Charge of Hawaii’s Volcano observation, told HNN.

“About noon, all of our seismometers started to hit the gas and then by three o’clock they were floorboard. Pretty much the seismometers were going pretty nuts around the summit,” he said.

Lava began shooting up from fissures in the mountainside about 2.5 miles southwest of the caldera early Monday
Lava began shooting up from fissures in the mountainside about 2.5 miles southwest of the caldera early Monday. ZUMAPRESS.com

Lava has been shooting from the mountainside since the activity began, but USGS officials assured residents it was “low in eruptive volume” and is not expected to extend beyond Volcanoes National Park.

Residents are being cautioned that there is a risk of volcanic gases and eruption debris being blown downwind into populated areas, and that people should remain vigilant for volcanic smog, known as vog.

Several parts of the park near the eruption zone have been closed.

Officials assured residents the eruption posed little threat of hazard beyond toxic fumes potentially being blown downwind
Officials assured residents the eruption posed little threat of hazard beyond toxic fumes potentially being blown downwind AP

Kīlauea had several similar eruptions across 2023, with the latest occurring in September and seismic activity rumbling the mountain in October.

In 2018, lava from an eruption at the volcano flowed into nearby communities, and destroyed 700 homes and displaced some 2,000 people.

Before that the volcano erupted for weeks beginning in June but did not threaten or damage nearby communities.

The volcano is located on the south side of the Hawaii island — also known as the Big Island — about 200 miles southeast of Honolulu, with is on the island of O’ahu.