Tag: Mauna Loa

Hawaii eruption brings tourism boon during slow season

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HILO, Hawaii (AP) — The spectacle of incandescent lava spewing from Hawaii’s Mauna Loa has drawn thousands of visitors and is turning into a tourism boon for this Big Island town near the world’s largest volcano.

Some hotels in and around Hilo are becoming fully booked in what is normally a slower time of the year for business. Helicopter tours of Mauna Loa, which began erupting Sunday after being quiet for 38 years, are also in high demand by tourists and journalists.

“Right now, it’s boomed,” said Marian Somalinog, who staffs the front desk at the Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. “We’re sold out until after Christmas.”

She attributed the increase to people wanting to watch the rivers of bright orange molten rock gush from Mauna Loa, a shield volcano whose name means “Long Mountain” in Hawaiian. The glow from the eruption can be seen in the distance from parts of the hotel.

This time of year is normally a slow season for Hawaii’s travel industry, falling between the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

But this week thousands of cars have created traffic jams on Route 200, known as the Saddle Road, which connects the cities of Hilo on the east side of Hawaii Island and Kailua-Kona on the west side.

Volcanic flows pose a potential future threat to that main artery but are currently still several miles (kilometers) away and not a danger to any communities. That means onlookers can take in the spectacle while exposing themselves to little danger. Tourists and locals are in the crowds, many snapping photos and taking selfies.

Somalinog hasn’t bothered to join them, however.

“The traffic is crazy,” she said. “It’s not worth it.”

Brett Steen flew from Oahu to the island of Hawaii with his parents, who are visiting from Florida, on a trip booked months ago. The volcano began erupting right before their arrival on the Big Island.

“It’s a bonus part of our trip,” Steen said. “We’re super excited to get out here.”

At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said many visitors know about Mauna Loa but aren’t aware that Kilauea, a smaller volcano, is also erupting — and that they can see both from multiple spots near the latter’s caldera.

“That hasn’t happened since 1984. It’s a really special time to be here,” Ferracane said.

The number of visitors to the park hasn’t increased since Mauna Loa’s eruption began late Sunday, but she expects it to rise late next week in line with normal seasonal patterns.

Saddle Road, which is outside the park, might not remain a prime viewing spot for long. The red-hot lava is creeping toward it.

Ken Hon, scientist in charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said the flow has “slowed considerably” and on Thursday was 3.3 miles (5.3 kilometers) south of the highway. At that rate, he said, it would be at least a week before it arrives.

“We don’t really know which way the lava flow will ultimately go,” Hon said.

A blockage of the road would pose problems, especially for those who use it to commute from Hilo and other parts of the island’s east side, where housing is generally more affordable, to jobs on the west side, home to many of the larger beach resorts.

Unless some sort of bypass is constructed, commuters would need to take coastal routes to and from Kailua-Kona, adding at least an hour drive time each way.

Steve Solberg, general manager of Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa in Kailua-Kona, said many guests have headed up Saddle Road to see the eruption. Some people cancelled reservations at the resort because of the volcano, but those were snapped up by others wanting to see the eruption.

“So it’s really kind of a wash at this point, but we expect it to be a very positive thing in the next week or so,” Solberg said.

He said that if Saddle Road is closed, the dozen or so employees who live in Hilo will be provided rooms at the resort during their five-day workweek so they don’t have to make the long commute every day.

Gov. David Ige has issued an emergency proclamation to allow responders to arrive quickly or limit access as needed. If lava does cross the highway, the Hawaii National Guard can help plan for alternatives and try to set up bypass routes, the governor said.

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. The current eruption is its 34th since written record keeping began in 1843. Its smaller neighbor, Kilauea, has been erupting since September 2021.

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McAvoy reported from Honolulu, and Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon.

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December 5, 2022
Molten lava on Hawaii’s Big Island could block main highway

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HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Many people on the Big Island of Hawaii are bracing for major upheaval if lava from Mauna Loa volcano slides across a key highway and blocks the quickest route connecting two sides of the island.

The molten rock could make the road impassable and force drivers to find alternate coastal routes in the north and south. That could add hours to commute times, doctor’s visits and freight truck deliveries.

“I am very nervous about it being cut off,” said Frank Manley, a licensed practical nurse whose commute is already an hour and 45 minutes each way from his home in Hilo to a Kaiser Permanente clinic in Kailua-Kona.

If the highway closes, he anticipates driving two-and-a-half to three hours in each direction. Manley fears he might lose pay if an accident or other traffic disruption along an alternate route delays his arrival.

The lava is oozing slowly at a rate that might reach the road next week. But its path is unpredictable and could change course, or the flow could stop completely and spare the highway.

The slow-moving flow was coursing about 2.7 miles (4.3 kilometers) from the road Friday, U.S. Geological Survey scientists reported.

There are more affordable housing options on the island’s east side, home to the county seat, Hilo. But many jobs at beach resorts, in construction and other industries are readily available on the west side, where Kailua-Kona is located. Saddle Road, also known as Route 200 or Daniel K. Inouye Highway, connects the two communities.

The state Department of Transportation took steps Thursday to remove potential traffic obstacles on the northern coastal route by reopening a lane across Nanue Bridge that was closed for repairs.

Hilo also is one of the island’s major harbors, where a wide variety of goods arrive by ship before proceeding across the island by truck.

Hawaii County Councilor Susan “Sue” L. K. Lee Loy, who represents Hilo and parts of Puna, said she’s concerned about big rigs traveling across aging coastal bridges.

“It’s going to take a lot to rethink how we move about on Hawaii Island,” she said.

Manley said he would have to get up at 3 a.m. to reach work by 8 a.m. If he left at 5 p.m., he wouldn’t get home until 8 p.m. “That drastically reduces my amount of time that I would be able to spend with my family,” he said.

Tanya Harrison of Hilo said she would need a full day off work to travel to her doctor in Kona.

There are more than 200,000 Big Island residents. Amidst throngs of tourists, delivery trucks and commuters forced to reroute, Harrison said she couldn’t imagine the congestion.

“It might even be quicker just to fly to Honolulu,” she said of the hour flight. “There’s no line at the Hilo airport. Fly over, see the doctor, come back would actually be quicker than driving.”

Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa plans to provide rooms at a Kailua-Kona hotel so its dozen or so Hilo-based employees can avoid the long commute five days per week.

A shutdown could also affect major astronomy research at the summit of Mauna Kea, a 13,803-foot (4,207-meter) peak next to Mauna Loa that is home to some of the world’s most advanced telescopes.

The road heading to Mauna Kea’s summit is midway between Hilo and Kona. If lava crosses Saddle Road on either side of Mauna Kea Access Road, many telescope workers would be forced to take long, circuitous routes.

Rich Matsuda, associate director for external relations at W.M. Keck Observatory, said telescopes may need to adjust staff schedules and house workers at a facility partway up the mountain for a while so they don’t have to commute.

There’s also a chance the lava flow may head directly across the lower part of Mauna Kea Access Road, which could block workers from reaching the summit. Matsuda hopes they’ll be able to use gravel or other bypass routes if that happens.

The telescopes previously have shut down for multi-day or weeklong winter storms. “So we’re prepared to do that if we have to,” Matsuda said.

Hilo resident Hayley Hina Barcia worries about the difficulty of reaching west-side surf spots and relatives in different parts of the island.

“A lot of my family is on the Puna side and we have other family in Kona,” Barcia said. “We use this road to see each other, especially with the holidays coming up, to spend time, so we’re looking to have to go several hours longer to go the south way or taking the north road.”

Geologists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said if Mauna Loa follows historical patterns, they expect the eruption, which began Sunday night, to continue for one to two weeks.

Since then, traffic has clogged the road as people try to glimpse the lava. A handful of resulting accidents included a two-vehicle crash that sent two people to the hospital with “not serious injuries,” Hawaii Police Department spokesperson Denise Laitinen said.

U.S. Rep. Ed Case and U.S. Rep. Kaiali’i Kahele sent a letter to President Joe Biden saying Hawaii County would need “immediate help” to keep island communities safe if lava flow blocks the highway. The two Hawaii Democrats noted that restricted access could hinder emergency services because one of the island’s primary hospitals is on the east side.

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McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu and Andrew Selsky in Salem, Oregon, contributed.

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December 5, 2022
As Mauna Loa’s lava inches toward a key Hawaii highway, some residents recall bygone devastation | CNN

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Mauna Loa, Hawaii
CNN
—

From a deep fracture in Mauna Loa’s dark terrain, the volcano’s magnificent eruption sends geyser-like fountains of lava spraying into the sky.

The fissure – cracked open on the northeastern slope of the world’s largest active volcano – feeds a searing flow of molten rock that cuts through the contours of Hawaii’s Big Island. Plumes of volcanic gas, including sulfur dioxide, rise into the air, and delicate strands of volcanic glass, called Pele’s hair, float downwind.

In the week since Mauna Loa erupted, the stream of lava has coursed northeast, away from the volcano’s summit. Once a quick-moving stream, the flow has slowed significantly as it reaches more softly sloping inclines.

Though no communities are at risk, the lava flow is inching closer to the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, a major artery that remains open, connecting two sides of this island, according to the US Geological Survey. The lava is flowing at an average rate of 25 feet per hour, the agency said Monday.

“Though the advance rate has slowed over the past several days, the lava flow remains active with a continuous supply from the fissure 3 vent,” the release said.

Advance rates of the lava may be “highly variable” in the coming days and weeks with individual lobes advancing quickly and then stalling, the release said.

“If the eruption continues, it might cover the highway. But at this stage, it’s still about 2.3 miles away from the highway. But it is advancing every day,” said Natalia Deligne, a volcanologist with the USGS at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. “We don’t know how long this eruption is going to last, and that will dictate whether or not the highway becomes more threatened.”

If it closes, residents’ commutes could grow by hours as they seek alternate routes, creating “a tremendous inconvenience,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige told CNN on Saturday.

Hawaii’s Defense Department activated 20 members of the state’s National Guard Monday as a result of the lava flow from Mauna Loa, a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency statement said. The National Guard members will “assist Hawai’i County with traffic control and other roles in the Mauna Loa eruption,” according to the statement.

Mauna Loa’s eruption has attracted waves of awestruck visitors, some making the pilgrimage in the middle of the night to avoid the crowds, bundled in jackets and hats to protect against the chilly night air.

Also erupting now is nearby Kilauea, whose monthslong eruption in 2018 was one of the most destructive in recent Hawaii history, the USGS says.

Kilauea began erupting again in 2021 and hasn’t stopped. And though it poses no risk now to surrounding communities, Mauna Loa’s rare simultaneous eruption has rekindled memories of the pain and destruction Kilauea wrought four years ago, when it wiped out hundreds of homes and dozens of miles of road.

Just 21 miles east of Mauna Loa, Kilauea’s ongoing eruption is now confined to a lake of lava rippling at its summit. But the history of this volcano is painful for Hawaii’s Big Island.

Its 2018 eruption spewed lava into the large Leilani Estates neighborhood, swallowing more than 700 homes and surrounding others with thick layers of volcanic rock, creating unreachable patches of green foliage in a sea of blackened destruction.

Dorothy Thrall can still walk to the spot where her community once stood, now blanketed with hardened lava. From the deck of her friend’s home, she can see the edge where the lava stopped and blackened into volcanic rock, still steaming years afterward.

Mauna Loa’s eruption has reopened some of the wounds she and her friends still have from 2018.

“I thought I was doing pretty good,” Thrall said. “My neighbor called me Day 2 (of Mauna Loa’s eruption), and she was in tears. She says, ‘I have PTSD, and I didn’t even know it.’ And I started crying, too, and I said, ‘I guess I do, too.’”

Thrall has no desire to see Mauna Loa’s eruption, saying she has seen enough lava in her time. Still, though, she still appreciates the majestic beauty and importance of volcanic events.

“Lava is beautiful. It’s Pele’s creation,” she said, referencing the ancient Hawaiian volcano deity. “That’s how the island was formed. That’s how the island was built.”

For many Native Hawaiians, the eruption of volcanoes, including Kilauea and Mauna Loa, holds incredible spiritual significance. Some have honored this week’s occasion by leaving offerings and participating in traditional chants near Mauna Loa.

As onlookers and tourists flock, officials urge caution and advise people not to venture into closed areas that could pose risk of lethal volcanic fumes, sudden collapses and hidden earth cracks, the National Park Service said.

A spot for safe viewing is a one-way route is accessible through the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said, noting vehicles parked on the roadway could get ticketed or towed.

The eruption has also created a risk of low air quality in some places due to volcanic ash and vog, or air pollution caused by volcanic gases. Sensitive groups, including children, the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, are advised to reduce outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing and reduce exposure by staying indoors and closing windows and doors, according to the Hawaii Department of Health.

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December 5, 2022
For many Hawaiians, lava flows are a time to honor, reflect

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HONOLULU — When Willette Kalaokahaku Akima-Akau looks out at the the lava flowing from Mauna Loa volcano and makes an offering of gin, tobacco and coins, she will be taking part in a tradition passed down from her grandfather and other Native Hawaiians as a way to honor both the natural and spiritual worlds.

Akima-Akau said she plans to take her grandchildren with her and together they will make their offerings and chant to Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire, who her grandfather used to pay reverence to as a kupuna, a word that can mean ancestor.

“This is the time for our kupuna, for our people, and for our children to come and witness what is happening as history is being made every day,” she said, adding that today’s experiences will be added to the next generation’s stories, songs, dances and chants.

For many Native Hawaiians, an eruption of a volcano like Mauna Loa has a deep yet very personal cultural significance. For many it can be an opportunity to feel a connection with creation itself through the way lava gives birth to new land, as well as a time to reflect on their own place in the world and the people who came before them.

“A volcanic eruption is a physical manifestation of so many natural and spiritual forces for Hawaiians,” said Ilihia Gionson, a Hawaii Tourism Authority spokesperson who is Native Hawaiian and lives on the Big Island. “People who are unfamiliar with that should understand that it’s a very personal, very significant thing.”

To be sure, not all Native Hawaiians will feel the need to make a trek to see the lava, but among those who do, some may chant, some may pray to ancestors and some may honor the moment with hula, or dance.

“Some people may be moved to just kind of observe in silence, meditate, you know, commune with their higher power or their kupuna in their own ways,” Gionson said.

Kainani Kahaunaele said as a Native Hawaiian, she feels moved to honor the moment and will take her children, nieces, nephews and close friends as close to the lava flow as possible. There they will chant to Pele.

“Our hookupu will be our voice,” she said, using the Hawaiian word for offering. “It’s not for any kind of show. It’s a connection that we’re making to Pele, to the land, to Mauna Loa.”

Many Hawaiians are practicing family traditions that have been passed down from elders.

Akima-Akau, who lives in Kawaihae on the west side of the Big Island, remembers hearing stories about how her grandfather would fly from Maui or Oahu whenever there was a Big Island lava flow to honor Pele.

“He would jump on a plane and come to Hawaii Island to give his hookupu,” offerings of gin, silver dollars and tobacco, she said.

Her grandfather died before she was born, so she doesn’t know exactly why he chose those items, but he wasn’t alone. She said she grew up knowing others who offered the same items, so that is what her family will bring. She said the children will offer Pele a ti leaf lei.

Hawaiians have different relationships with the spirituality of lava, said Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner Kealoha Pisciotta. To Pisciotta, the lava “brings good mana” — which can mean supernatural or divine power — “and cleanses where it needs cleansing.”

There are also different relationships and connections to Pele, who some refer to as a god or goddess. Pele has great significance in Hawaiian culture, representing all the phenomena related to volcanoes — the magma, steam, ash, acid rain.

“Her primary form is the lava, not necessarily that she is a female, human person. But the image of her function is creation, which happens to be a very feminine image,” said Kekuhi Kealiʻikanakaʻole, a cultural practitioner in Hilo.

Pisciotta calls her “Tutu Pele,” using the word for grandparent, because deities “are more ancient than we are.”

Manua Loa’s spectacular show is drawing thousands of people seeking nighttime views of the lava flowing down the mountain’s northeast flank, clogging the main east-west road on the island. Among them are those coming to pay their respects, leaving altars or shrines along the roadway.

Cultural practitioners like Pisciotta want lava gawkers to be mindful of those who are chanting, praying or gathering in ceremonies amid the eruption: “Give them some space and respect.”

“If a person doing something wants to invite somebody to participate or watch, there will be an invitation,” said Gionson, the tourism official. “And if not, respect that and keep a respectful distance.”

So far, the tourism authority hasn’t received any complaints about people getting in the way of cultural practices, he said, adding that the agency focuses on educating tourists in general about being respectful and behaving appropriately when visiting the islands.

Kahaunaele, who teaches Hawaiian language and music at the University of Hawaii’s Hilo campus and planned to gather with her family on Thursday night, knows that visitors to the island might be curious when they see and hear her family chanting.

“Don’t film us. Don’t even ask for permission, just don’t,” she said. “That even goes for locals. Don’t infringe upon anybody else’s moment.”

———

Associated Press reporter Caleb Jones in Hilo, Hawaii, contributed to this report.

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December 1, 2022
Prayers? Bombs? Hawaii history shows stopping lava not easy

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HONOLULU — Prayer. Bombs. Walls. Over the decades, people have tried all of them to stanch the flow of lava from Hawaii’s volcanoes as it lumbered toward roads, homes and infrastructure.

Now Mauna Loa — the world’s largest active volcano — is erupting again, and lava is slowly approaching a major thoroughfare connecting the Big Island’s east and west sides. And once more, people are asking if anything can be done to stop or divert the flow.

“It comes up every time there’s an eruption and there’s lava heading towards habited areas or highways. Some people say ‘Build a wall’ or ‘Board up’ and other people say, ‘No don’t!,’” said Scott Rowland, a geologist at the University of Hawaii.

Humans have rarely had much success stopping lava and, despite the world’s technological advances, doing so is still difficult and dependent on the force of the flow and the terrain. But many in Hawaii also question the wisdom of interfering with nature and Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire.

Attempts to divert lava have a long history in Hawaii.

In 1881, the governor of Hawaii Island declared a day of prayer to stop lava from Mauna Loa as it headed for Hilo. The lava kept coming.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Princess Regent Lili’uokalani and her department heads went to Hilo and considered ways to save the town. They developed plans to build barriers to divert the flow and place dynamite along a lava tube to drain the molten rock supply.

Princess Ruth Ke’elikōlani approached the flow, offered brandy and red scarves and chanted, asking Pele to stop the flow and go home. The flow stopped before the barriers were built.

More than 50 years later, Thomas A. Jaggar, the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, asked U.S. Army Air Services to send planes to bomb a Mauna Loa vent to disrupt lava channels.

Lt. Col. George S. Patton (who later became famous as a general in Europe during World War II) directed planes to drop 20 600-pound (272-kilogram) demolition bombs, according to a National Park Service account of the campaign. The bombs each had 355 pounds (161 kilograms) of TNT. The planes also dropped 20 smaller bombs that only had black powder charge.

Jagger said the bombing helped to “hasten the end of the flow,” but Howard Stearns, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist onboard the last bombing run, was doubtful. In his 1983 autobiography, he wrote: “I am sure it was a coincidence.”

According to the park service, geologists today also are doubtful the bombing stopped the lava flow, which didn’t end with the bombing. Instead, the flows waned over the next few days and didn’t change paths.

Rowland said authorities could use a bulldozer to pile a big berm of broken rock in front of Daniel K. Inouye Highway. If the terrain is flat, then lava would pile up behind the wall. But the lava may flow over it, like it did when something similar was attempted in Kapoho town in 1960.

Rapidly moving lava flows, like those from Kilauea volcano in 2018, would be more difficult to stop, he said.

“It would have been really hard to hard to build the walls fast enough for them. And they were heading towards groups of homes. And so you would perhaps be sacrificing some homes for others, which would just be a legal mess,” he said.

He said he believes most people in Hawaii wouldn’t want to build a wall to protect the highway because it would “mess with Pele.”

If lava crosses the highway, Rowland said officials could rebuild that section of the road like they did in 2018 when different routes were covered.

Hawaii County’s director of civil defense, Talmadge Magno, said Wednesday the county has no current plans to try to divert the flow, though he has had some discussions about it.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who was governor during the 2018 Kilauea eruption, told reporters his experience showed him it’s not possible to overcome nature and Pele.

Thinking you should physically divert lava is a Western idea rooted in the notion that humans have to control everything, said Kealoha Pisciotta, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner. She said people need to adjust to the lava, not the other way around.

“We are not separate from nature,” she said. “We are a part of nature.”

———

Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.

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December 1, 2022
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Erupts, Spewing Ash And Debris Nearby

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HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began spewing ash and debris from its summit, prompting civil defense officials to warn residents on Monday to prepare in case the eruption causes lava to flow toward communities.

The eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island following a series of closely spaced, fairly large earthquakes, Ken Hon, the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcanos Observatory, said at an early morning news conference. Magma moved to the surface, although lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren’t threatening nearby communities.

A time-lapse video of the eruption from overnight shows molten lava lighting up the caldera, moving across it like waves on the ocean.

There have been some photos provided to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory that suggest that the south end of the caldera has overflowed, causing some lava flows a few kilometers (miles) out of the caldera, Hon said.

In some previous eruptions, lava has overflowed the caldera but never made it close to populated areas.

“Right now we are looking at indications, trying to figure out if this is going to be an eruption that remains within the summit of Mauna Loa or moves down one of the rift zones either to the southwest and to the northeast,” Hon said.

“We don’t want to try and second guess the volcano,” Hon said. “We have to let it actually show us what it’s going to do and then we inform people of what is happening ASAP.”

There is currently no indication of any migration of the eruption into a rift zone, officials said. A rift zone is where the mountain is splitting apart and the rock is cracked and relatively weak – making it easier for magma to emerge.

The ground is shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, indicating that it could erupt. Scientists say they don’t expect that to happen right away but officials on the Big Island of Hawaii are telling residents to be prepared in case it does erupt soon. This map shows the lava flow hazard level zones for the island.

“At this time, it’s not a time to be alarmed,” Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said.

There are no evacuation orders.

Even though it noted there is no indication of lava moving into a rift one, Hawaii County Civil Defense announced it has opened shelters in Kailua-Kona and Pahala because it has reports of people self-evacuating along the South Kona coast.

Scientists will have to wait to see if this remains a summit-only eruption or a rift zone eruption. The average Mauna Loa eruption is not typically prolonged, lasting a couple of weeks, Hon said.

“Typically, Mauna Loa eruptions start off with the heaviest volume first,” Hon said. “After a few days, it starts to calm down a little bit.”

The USGS warned residents at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows should review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.

Portions of the Big Island were under an ashfall advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu, which said up to a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of ash could accumulate in some areas.

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Mauna Loa, rising 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above sea level, is the much larger neighbor to Kilauea volcano, which erupted in a residential neighborhood and destroyed 700 homes in 2018. Some of its slopes are much steeper than Kilauea’s – so when it erupts, lava can flow much faster.

During a 1950 eruption, the mountain’s lava traveled 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the ocean in less than three hours.

Tourism is the economic engine for Hawaii, but Roth predicted few problems for those on vacation during the eruption.

“If it does go into one of the rift zones, it’s going to impact a very small area of the island,” he said. “It will be spectacular where it is, but the chances of it really interrupting the visitor industry — very, very slim.”

For some, the eruption might cut down on some travel time, even if there is more vog, or volcanic smog caused by higher sulfur dioxide emissions.

“But the good thing is you don’t have to drive from Kona over to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see an eruption anymore,” Roth said. “You can just look out your window at night and you’ll be able to see Mauna Loa erupting.”

Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.

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November 28, 2022
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa starts to erupt, sending ash nearby

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Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby, authorities said Monday.

The eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Early Monday, it said lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren’t threatening nearby communities.

The agency warned residents at risk from Mauna Loa lava flows should review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984.

Mauna Loa, rising 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above sea level, is the much larger neighbor to Kilauea volcano, which erupted in a residential neighborhood and destroyed 700 homes in 2018. Some of its slopes are much steeper than Kilauea’s so when it erupts, its lava can flow much faster.

During a 1950 eruption, the mountain’s lava traveled 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the ocean in less than three hours.

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November 28, 2022
5.0 earthquake hits during Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano unrest

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HONOLULU — A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was the strongest of a series of temblors that struck Friday on Hawaii‘s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet that scientists say is in a “state of heightened unrest.”

Smaller aftershocks followed, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The series started with a 4.6 magnitude quake seconds before the larger one, which the USGS previously reported as having magnitude of 5.1.

The first one was slightly offshore and south of the town of Pahala, followed by the larger quake just south of Pahala beneath a highway, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement.

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said there were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. He said later there was some minor damage in Pahala, including tiles that fell in a county building.

“Shaking from the larger earthquakes may have been strong enough to do minor local damage, especially to older buildings,” the observatory’s statement said. “The two earthquakes occurred within 24 seconds of each other creating shaking of longer duration and possibly greater intensity than either of the earthquakes would have created on their own.”

The aftershocks could continue for several days to possibly weeks and may be large enough to be felt, the observatory said.

Mizuno Superette, the only grocery store in rural Pahala, closed for about an hour and a half after the shaking left broken jars on the floor and knocked out electricity, said cashier Laurie Tackett.

“The ground was just shaking,” she said by phone while ringing up purchases after the small store reopened. “It was a little scary.”

Mauna Loa is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time.

“This sequence of earthquakes appears to be related to readjustments along the southeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano,” the observatory said. “On several occasions large earthquakes have preceded past eruptions of Mauna Loa, though these have typically been larger than today’s earthquakes. It is not known at this time if this sequence of earthquakes is directly related to the ongoing unrest on Mauna Loa.”

Scientists at the observatory were monitoring Mauna Loa closely for changes.

Hundreds of responses on the USGS earthquakes website reported feeling varying degrees of shaking across the vast island. Those near Pahala reported strong shaking, while others further away felt weaker tremors.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii.

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October 14, 2022