Hawaii's Big Island Kilauea Volcano Erupts, Residents Told Not To Come Outdoors

The Kilauea volcano located on Hawaii's Big Island erupted on December 20, as per an advisory from the US Geological Survey, according to a Reuters report. An earthquake followed.

Residents were told not to go out with steam clouding the sky and ash raining down.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) recorded a quake that had a magnitude of 4.4.

Reuters

The last time this volcano saw this much activity was in 2018. Back then several homes were destroyed by the lava.

It began with multiple fissures that opened the walls of Halemaumau crater, USGS said.

A picture from USGS showed the summit lighted up by the hot lava.

AP

Volcanos are known to lie dormant for years, decades or even centuries and erupt out of the blue. An active volcano is more regular with its eruptions while an extinct one is done and dusted.

According to AP, people are going to parks to try and spot the eruption. This is in spite of all warning by USGS.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said in a telephone interview that the volcanic activity is a risk to people in the park and that caution is needed.

"It's pretty spectacular this morning," she said.

"But there are high amounts of hazardous sulfur dioxide gas and particulates and those are billowing out of the crater right now and those present a danger to everyone, especially people with heart or respiratory problems, infants, young children and pregnant women,'' she added.

The water was the first-ever recorded in the summit crater of Kilauea volcano. In 2019, after a week of questions about a mysterious green patch at the bottom of the volcano's crater, researchers confirmed the presence of water. The lake had continued to fill since then.

The eruption began late Sunday within the volcano's caldera, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Because of the location of the erupting lava, no homes were evacuated and there was little risk to the public. The crater, named Halemaumau, is located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and was home to a longstanding lava lake that was present for years before a 2018 eruption caused it to drain.