Tag: Volcanic eruptions

How Prehistoric Humans Survived a Supervolcano So Big We Probably Should Have Gone Extinct

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If you were lucky 74,000 years ago, you would have survived the Toba supereruption, one of the largest catastrophic events that Earth has seen in the past 2.5 million years.

While the volcano is located in what’s now Indonesia, living organisms across the entire globe were potentially affected. As an archaeologist who specializes in studying volcanic eruptions of the past, I often think about how incredible it is that humans survived this extinction-level event that was over 10,000 times larger than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.

Volume of material ejected during key explosive eruptions. For reference, 1 cubic kilometer (km3) is roughly equivalent to 0.24 cubic miles. The largest circle depicts the Toba supereruption, with the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption denoted by the smaller green circle.
USGS Volcanic Hazards Program, CC BY

The Toba supereruption ejected 672 cubic miles (2,800 km³) of volcanic ash into the stratosphere, producing an enormous crater roughly 1,000 football fields in length (62 x 18 miles, or 100 x 30 kilometers). An eruption this size would have produced black skies blocking most of the sunlight, potentially causing years of global cooling. Closer to the volcano, acid rain would have contaminated water supplies, and thick layers of ash would have buried animals and vegetation.

With all those odds stacked against Homo sapiens as a species, how did we survive to piece together the story today?

Survival amid the ashes

Human populations living in close proximity to the Toba volcano were probably completely wiped out. Whether people on other parts of the globe were affected is a question that scientists are still investigating.

The Toba catastrophe hypothesis was one prominent school of thought for many years. It proposes that the Toba supereruption caused a global cooling event that lasted up to six years. Its effects, according to the hypothesis, caused human population sizes to plummet to fewer than 10,000 individual people living on Earth.

This scenario is supported by genetic evidence found in the genomes of people alive today. Our DNA suggests that modern humans spread into separate regions around 100,000 years ago and then shortly after that experienced what scientists call a genetic bottleneck: an event, such as a natural disaster or disease outbreak, that leads to a large decline in population sizes. These calamities drastically reduce the genetic diversity in a group.

Whether this apparent reduction in human population size resulted from the Toba supereruption or some other factor is heavily debated. As scientists collect more data from climate, environmental and archaeological records, we can begin to understand what conditions were most important for human survival.

How to study a supereruption’s impact

To piece together what happened 74,000 years ago, scientists have one direct line of evidence they can use: the rock and ash ejected from the volcanic eruption itself. This material is referred to as tephra. Scientists can trace the layers of tephra across the landscape both visually and chemically.

A backscatter image of a volcanic glass shard, taken with a microscope that uses electrons instead of light. The glass here is very small – 50-60 microns, about the diameter of a human hair – and looks light in color. It also appears to contain holes that formed from air bubbles during the time of eruption.
Jayde N. Hirniak

Microscopic volcanic glass called cryptotephra travels the farthest, making it important for understanding the true extent of an eruption. Because cryptotephra is not visible to the naked eye, it can be really challenging to identify. Researchers like me carefully separate out the tiny glass shards by sifting through the dirt and using a micromanipulator, a tool that can pick up and move microscopic grains. This process can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack and can take months to complete for one site.

Every volcanic eruption has a unique chemistry, which scientists can use to determine which eruption a particular sample of volcanic material originated from. For instance, tephra from one eruption might have more iron in it compared to tephra from another eruption. With this knowledge, we can begin to understand how large past eruptions were and who they directly affected.

When I work in the field, I look for cryptotephra that settled on archaeological sites – places with traces of past human activity such as tools, art or even buried remains. I collect samples from areas of the site that have been excavated and bring them back to the lab to extract the microscopic volcanic glass out of the dirt. Then I chemically analyze the glass to figure out the volcanic fingerprint.

Author sampling for cryptotephra at an archaeological site. Samples are collected in a continuous column along an exposed stratigraphic section.
Jayde N. Hirniak

But even if I determine that a certain sample from an archaeological site is from the Toba supereruption, what does that reveal about whether people survived the blast?

Once we identify a tephra or cryptotephra layer, the next step is to look closely at what’s preserved in the archaeological record before and after that eruption. In some cases, people change their behavior after an eruption, such as using a new stone tool technology or eating something different. Sometimes, people even abandon a site, leaving no trace of human activity after a catastrophic event.

Studying volcanic deposits on archaeological sites fills in only one piece of the puzzle, though. Environmental and climate records preserve information on how the local vegetation or global temperatures changed at the time of the eruption. This information helps scientists understand why people made the changes they did.

What does the archaeological evidence reveal?

Given the size and intensity of the Toba supereruption, it almost seems inevitable that humans across the globe would have suffered immensely. However, most archaeological sites tell a story of resilience.

In places such as South Africa, humans not only survived this catastrophic event but thrived. At archaeological site Pinnacle Point 5-6, evidence of cryptotephra from Toba shows that humans occupied the site before, during and after the eruption. In fact, human activity increased and new technological innovations appeared shortly after, demonstrating humans’ adaptability.

This miraculous result was not restricted to South Africa. Similar evidence is also preserved at archaeological site Shinfa-Metema 1 in the lowlands of Ethiopia, where cryptotephra from Toba was present in layers that also preserve human activity.

Here, past humans adapted to changes in the local environment by following seasonal rivers and fishing in small, shallow waterholes present during long dry seasons. Around the time of the Toba supereruption, humans in this region also adopted bow-and-arrow technology. This behavioral flexibility allowed people to survive the intense arid conditions and other potential effects of the Toba supereruption.

Through the years, archaeologists have found similar results at many other sites in Indonesia, India and China. As the evidence accumulates, it appears that people were able to survive and continue to be productive after Toba blew its stack. This suggests that this eruption might not have been the main cause of the population bottleneck originally suggested in the Toba catastrophe hypothesis.

While Toba might not help scientists understand what caused ancient human populations to plummet to 10,000 individuals, it does help us understand how humans have adapted to catastrophic events in the past and what that means for our future.

What could a future disaster mean?

The good news is that we are a lot more prepared now than people were 74,000 years ago, and even then, they were able to adapt and find new solutions in the wake of devastating events. Today, programs such as the USGS Volcanic Hazards Program and the Global Volcanism Program focus on preparation by monitoring active volcanoes through a variety of techniques. In fact, you can check out what volcanoes are currently erupting at any time.

Different methods of volcanic monitoring conducted by the USGS Volcanic Hazards Program.
Lisa Faust, USGS, CC BY

Aside from our increased preparedness, humans are defined by our adaptability to almost any condition, even cataclysmic events. By studying the impact of volcanic eruptions in the archaeological record, we can better understand what conditions were key for human survival in the past and apply these lessons to the future.

Jayde N. Hirniak, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Jayde N. Hirniak, The Conversation

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September 12, 2025
Startling video of Iceland volcano eruption quickly goes viral

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A jaw-dropping aerial video shared on social media shows a volcano erupting in Iceland on Monday.

Monday’s eruption, which began shortly after 10 p.m. local time, was not unexpected as scientists warned an one was looming, but the event was much larger than expected, according to media reports. The location of the more than 2.5-mile volcanic fissure, which is oozing lava through the cracks, poses a risk to a nearby power plant and town, the New York Times reports.

Scientists have been monitoring the situation for months after magma, which is molten rock beneath the ground, has been showing signs of erupting as lava in a volcanic explosion. Last week, researchers shared their latest findings, following tests around the Icelandic southwest region of Svartsengi.

Iceland had been bracing for a significant eruption after huge cracks had opened up in the ground, splitting roads in two, as a series of earthquakes rocked the region. The town of Grindavík, where 4,000 people call home, has been evacuated prior to Monday’s eruption.

Roads in the town of Keflavik, Iceland, are pictured as smoke billows with lava coloring the night sky orange from a volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula in western Iceland on December 18, 2023. A volcanic eruption began on Monday night following an earthquake swarm, Iceland’s Meteorological Office reported.
Maria Steinunn Johannesdottir / AFP

Nahel Belgherze shared an incredible aerial video on X, formerly Twitter. The clip, which quickly amassed more than 800,000 views in less than 2 hours on the social media platform, also garnered nearly 10,000 likes and 4,000 shares.

“JUST IN: First aerial footage captured just minutes ago of the newly opened volcanic fissure near Grindavík, Iceland,” Nahel Belgherze posted on X. “It is estimated to be about 3 km long!”

JUST IN: First aerial footage captured just minutes ago of the newly opened volcanic fissure near Grindavík, Iceland.

It is estimated to be about 3 km long! pic.twitter.com/uLLpmZHvFe

— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) December 18, 2023

Newsweek reached out via email on Monday night to the Icelandic Meteorological Office for an update.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said in an update on the volcanic eruption early Tuesday morning that the latest aerial observations and seismicity, show the fissure is “expanding to the south.”

“At the time of publication, the southern end of the fissure was close to Sundhnúkur,” the weather agency said in an online statement shortly after 2 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

During the first two hours of the eruption, the rate of lava discharge “was thought to be on a scale of hundreds of cubic meters per second, with the largest lava fountains on the northern end of the fissures,” according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

The agency said that real-time GPS measurements showed areas of “significant” ground deformation.

Around midnight local time, the level of seismicity at the eruption site began to decrease, the meteorological office said.

AccuWeather shared a video on X showing thick smoke that prompted road closures.

“Volcano erupts near Grindavik after weeks of intense earthquake activity,” AccuWeather posted on X. “Footage shows thick smoke wafting skyward and lava spewing from the volcano’s mouth. The Icelandic Road Administration announced the closure of all roads in the area.”

🚨 Iceland volcano erupts near Grindavik after weeks of intense earthquake activity.

Footage shows thick smoke wafting skyward and lava spewing from the volcano’s mouth. The Icelandic Road Administration announced the closure of all roads in the area. pic.twitter.com/V2aLBkJUrk

— AccuWeather (@accuweather) December 19, 2023

The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service is live-streaming the volcanic eruption on YouTube.

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December 18, 2023
$A deadly volcano could erupt ‘within days or weeks’ in Colombia. But only a small fraction of locals have evacuated | CNN$

A deadly volcano could erupt ‘within days or weeks’ in Colombia. But only a small fraction of locals have evacuated | CNN

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Bogota, Colombia
CNN
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Hundreds of families in Colombia are facing a choice: abandon their homes and livelihoods, or face the devastation of a predicted volcanic eruption in the coming weeks.

The Nevado del Ruiz volcano, one of Colombia’s highest peaks, sits in a densely populated farming area and is infamous for claiming the lives of tens of thousands of people in a massive 1985 eruption.

Since March 30, the volcano has been on orange alert, signifying that “an eruption is likely within days or weeks,” according to Colombia’s Geological Service.

Towns and villages around the mountain have been asked to evacuate, with local and national authorities declaring a state of emergency. Most nearby schools have gone back to pandemic-era home learning plans and local municipalities are stockpiling first aid kits.

On April 5, Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered the voluntary evacuation of about 2,500 families in the area as a precaution, but many locals have refused, saying they are more worried about leaving their livelihoods and belongings behind than about potential lava flows.

While it’s unclear how many families in total have evacuated, Tolima’s civil protection unit director Luis Fernando Velez told local newspaper El Tiempo on Thursday that only a small fraction – just 87 people – had left their homes under his agencies’ watch.

The slopes of the Nevado del Ruiz, located between the Tolima and Caldas provinces in central Colombia, are fertile grounds for local farmers, who say leaving their cattle behind would ruin them.

The local government in the province of Tolima has announced plans to evacuate up to 12,000 cattle, out of a total of over 43,000.

Omar Valdes, Tolima’s rural development secretary and the officer in charge of the cattle evacuation, said farmers were resisting the evacuation order because of previous bad experiences.

“In previous occasions they evacuated, floods [caused by the volcano] didn’t affect their farms and when they came back the farmers found that most of their goods and cattle had been stolen,” he explained.

Eruptions from the Ruiz volcano can be particularly lethal, according to scientists at the Smithsonian Institute’s Global Volcanism Program, because the top of the peak is permanently capped by a layer of snow and ice. Once in contact with the lava, the snow and vice would instantly melt, flood over the slopes of the mountain in torrential mudslides called lahars.

Such a tragedy struck on November 13, 1985, the last massive eruption of the volcano, which is collectively known in Colombia as the Armero Tragedy. On that occasion, just a couple hours after the Ruiz volcano began to erupt, a river of mud, rocks, lava, and icy water swept over the small town of Armero. The flood killed over 23,000 people in a matter of minutes.

Many local residents still remember the trauma of that day, but few are willing to gamble their livelihoods on geologists’ warnings alone. The same volcano erupted in 2012 without causing any deaths.

While Tolima and Caldas are part of the relatively wealthy coffee-growing region of Colombia, most economic activity is run by small-scale farmers who own a limited number of animals and tend to small parcels of land and for whom the cattle and agricultural equipment they own are their most valuable belongings.

Though the increasingly active volcano is monitored daily by dozens of probes, it is impossible to forecast exactly whether it will erupt, let alone when. Still, there are troubling signs.

“Right now, the volcano is ejecting steam, ashes, gases, and closer to the crater there’s been a high level of seismicity,” said Luis Fernando Velasco, the Director of Colombia’s risk management unit UNGRD, in a video statement last week.

Recently, the ground around the volcano has been shaken by hundreds, sometimes thousands of small tremors per day. And on Friday, a column of ashes and smoke originating from the volcano rose onto the sky for over 1500 meters (approximately 5000 ft), according to a report by the Colombian Geological Service.

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April 14, 2023
Lightning in the ‘cataclysmic’ Tonga volcano eruption shattered ‘all records’ | CNN

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CNN
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When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in January 2022, it sent shockwaves around the world. Not only did it trigger widespread tsunami waves, but it also belched an enormous amount of climate-warming water vapor into the Earth’s stratosphere.

Now researchers in a new report have unveiled something else: the eruption set off more than 25,500 lightning events in just five minutes. Over the course of just six hours, the volcano triggered nearly 400,000 lightning events. Half of all the lightning in the world was concentrated around this volcano at the eruption’s peak.

The “cataclysmic eruption” shattered “all records,” according to the report from Vaisala, an environmental monitoring company that tracks lightning around the world.

“It’s the most extreme concentration of lightning that we’ve ever detected,” Chris Vagasky, meteorologist and lightning expert at Vaisala, told CNN. “We’ve been detecting lightning for 40 years now, and this is really an extreme event.”

The annual report by Vaisala found that 2022 was a year of extremes for lightning. Lightning increased in the US in 2022, with more than 198 million lightning strokes — 4 million more than what was observed in 2021, and 28 million more than 2020.

“We are continuing an upward trend in lightning,” Vagasky said.

The World-Wide Lightning Location Network, another lightning monitoring network led by the University of Washington, which is not involved with the report, said Vaisala’s findings about global lightning as well as the Hunga volcano are consistent with their own observations.

“We can do this because the stronger eruptions generate lightning, and lightning sends detectable radio signals around the world,” Robert Holzworth, the director of the network, told CNN. “The Hunga eruption was absolutely impressive in its lightning activity.”

Researchers have used lightning as a key indicator of the climate crisis, since the phenomenon typically signals warming temperatures. Lightning occurs in energetic storms associated with an unstable atmosphere, requiring relatively warm and moist air, which is why they primarily occur in tropical latitudes and elsewhere during the summer months.

But in 2022, Vaisala’s National Lightning Detection Network found more than 1,100 lightning strokes in Buffalo, New York, during a devastating lake-effect snowstorm that dumped more than 30 inches of snow in the city, but piled historic totals in excess of 6 feet in the surrounding suburbs along Lake Erie. Lake-effect snow occurs when cold air blows over warm lake water, in this case from the Great Lakes. The large difference in temperature can cause extreme instability in the atmosphere and lead to thunderstorm-like lightning even in a snow storm.

The report noted that many of these lightning events happened near wind turbines south of Buffalo, which Vagasky said was significant. He explained that the ice crystal-filled clouds were lower to the ground than usual, scraping just above the blades of the turbines.

“That can cause what is known as self-initiated upward lightning,” Vagasky said. “So the lightning occurs because you have charged at the tip of this wind turbine blade that is really close to the base of the cloud, and it’s really easy to get a connection of the electric charge.”

This is an area of ongoing research, he said, as the country turns to more clean energy alternatives.

“We’re seeing bigger and bigger wind turbines, and certainly as we’re putting in more and more wind energy and renewable energy, lightning is going to play a role in that,” he said.

The report comes after an unusual year in 2021, when they found lightning strokes increased significantly in the typically frozen Arctic region, which scientists say is a clear sign of how the climate crisis is altering global weather.

“Lightning in polar regions wasn’t mentioned [in this year’s Vaisala report], but our global lightning network shows a trend for much more lightning in the northern polar regions,” Michael McCarthy, research associate professor and associate director of the World Wide Lightning Location Network, told CNN. “That trend closely tracks the observed average temperature changes over the northern hemisphere.

“This close tracking suggests, but does not prove, a climate change effect,” McCarthy added.

Vagasky said lightning in colder areas will only amplify as the planet warms, noting that meteorologists and climatologists have been collecting more data to not only make the climate connections clear but also keep people safe.

“That’s why they’ve named lightning as an essential climate variable,” he said, “because it’s important to know where it’s occurring, how much is occurring, and so you can see how thunderstorms are trending as a result of changing climates.”

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January 8, 2023
Devastating disasters and flickers of hope: These are the top climate and weather stories of 2022 | CNN

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CNN
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From a small island in Polynesia to the white-sand beaches of Florida, the planet experienced a dizzying number of climate and extreme weather disasters in 2022.

Blistering summer heat broke records in drought-stricken China, threatening lives and food production. In the United States, drought and sea level rise clashed at the mouth of the historically low Mississippi River. And in South Africa, climate change made rainfall that triggered deadly floods heavier and twice as likely to occur.

Yet against the backdrop of these catastrophic events, this year also sparked some glimmers of hope:

Scientists in the US successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction that generated more energy than it used – a huge step in the decades-long quest to replace fossil fuels with an infinite source of clean energy.

And at the United Nations’ COP27 climate summit in Egypt, nearly 200 countries agreed to set up a fund to help poor, vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters they had little hand in causing.

“There was some encouraging climate action in 2022, but we remain far off track to meet our goals of reducing global heat-trapping emissions and limiting future planetary warming,” Kristina Dahl, principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told CNN. “There must be a stronger collective commitment and progress toward slashing emissions in 2023 if we are to keep climate extremes from becoming even more devastating.”

Here are the top 10 climate and extreme weather stories of 2022.

When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in January, it sent tsunami waves around the world. The blast itself was so loud it was heard in Alaska – roughly 6,000 miles away. The afternoon sky turned pitch black as heavy ash clouded Tonga’s capital and caused “significant damage” along the western coast of the main island of Tongatapu.

The underwater volcanic eruption also injected a huge cloud of ash and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, more than 30 kilometers (around 19 miles) above sea level, according to data from NASA satellites.

At the time, experts said the event was likely not large enough to impact global climate.

But months later, scientists found that the eruption actually belched an enormous amount of water vapor into the Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The massive plume of water vapor will likely contribute to more global warming at ground-level for the next several years, NASA scientists reported.

Severe drought reveals incredible discovery at bottom of Mississippi river

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Searing temperatures, lack of rainfall and low snowpack pushed some of the world’s most vital rivers to new lows this year.

Northern Italy saw its worst drought in more than 70 years. The 400-mile River Po hit a record low due to an unusually dry winter and limited snowpack in the Alps, which feeds the river. The drought impacted millions of people who rely on the Po for their livelihood, and roughly 30% of the country’s food, which is produced along the river.

Also fed by winter snowpack in the Alps along with spring rains, Germany’s Rhine River dropped to “exceptionally low” levels in some areas, disrupting shipping in the country’s most important inland water way. Months of little rainfall meant cargo ships began carrying lighter loads and transport costs soared.

Meanwhile in the US, extreme drought spread into the central states and gauges along the Mississippi River and its tributaries plummeted. Barge traffic moved in fits and starts as officials dredged the river. The Mississippi River dropped so low that the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to build a 1,500-foot-wide levee to prevent Gulf-of-Mexico saltwater from pushing upstream.

After more than a year of negotiations, Democrats in late July reached an agreement on President Joe Biden’s long-stalled climate, energy and tax agenda – capping a year of agonizing negotiations that failed multiple times.

Biden signed the bill into law in August and signaled to the world that the US is delivering on its climate promises.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin was influential in delaying the bill’s passage. Multiple White House and Biden administration officials for months had tried to convince the senator to support the bill over dinners in Paris and ziplining in West Virginia.

An analysis suggests the measures in the bill will reduce US carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030 and would put Biden well on his way to achieving his goal of slashing emissions in half by 2030.

‘We are in trouble here in Daytona’: Coastal homes collapse into the ocean

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Hurricane Nicole was the first hurricane to hit anywhere in the US during the month of November in nearly 40 years. The rare, late-season storm also marked the first time that a hurricane made landfall on Florida’s east coast in November.

Although Nicole was only a category 1, it had a massive wind field that stretched more than 500 miles, coupled with astronomically high tides that led to catastrophic storm surge. Homes and buildings collapsed into the ocean in Volusia County, with authorities scrambling to issue evacuation warnings.

Hurricane Nicole flooded streets, destroyed power lines and killed at least five people. The storm came just 42 days after deadly category 4 Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc on the west coast of Florida.

Negotiators from nearly 200 countries agreed at the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to set up a new fund for “loss and damage,” meant to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. It was the first time wealthy, industrialized countries and groups, including longtime holdouts like the US and the EU, agreed to establish such a fund.

“We can’t solve the climate crisis unless we rapidly and equitably transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels, as well as hold wealthy nations and the fossil fuel industry accountable for the damage they have done,” Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told CNN.

The summer’s series of floods started off in Yellowstone National Park in June, when extreme rainfall and rapidly melting snow washed out roads and bridges in the park, causing significant damage to the nearby town of Gardiner, Montana, at the park’s entrance. Authorities had to rescue more than 100 people from the floods.

The year also brought several 1,000-year rainfall events. A 1,000-year rainfall event is one that is so intense it’s only seen on average once every 1,000 years – under normal circumstances. But extreme rainfall is becoming more common as the climate crisis pushes temperatures higher. Warmer air can hold more moisture, which loads the dice in favor of historic rainfall.

Deadly flooding swept through Eastern Kentucky and around St. Louis in July after damaging, record-breaking rainfall in a short period of time.

California’s Death Valley, after a yearslong dry spell, saw its rainiest day in recorded history.

Meanwhile, down south, parts of Dallas, Texas, got an entire summer’s worth of rain in just 24 hours in August, prompting more than 350 high-water rescues.

Wildfires threaten London during record-breaking heat wave

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CNN

Europe experienced its hottest summer on record in 2022 by a wide margin. While the heat kicked off early in France, Portugal and Spain, with the countries reaching record-warmth in May, the most significant heat came in mid-July, spreading across the UK and central Europe.

The UK, in particular, topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time on record. Stephen Belcher, the UK Met Office’s chief scientist, said this would have been “virtually impossible” in an “undisrupted climate.”

Throughout western Europe, the heatwaves gravely increased wildfire risk, with one London fire official noting that the 40-degree day led to an “unprecedented day in the history of the London Fire Brigade.”

As water levels drop at this major lake, bodies begin to appear

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The past few years have been a reality check for western states that heavily rely on the Colorado River for water and electricity. Plagued by decades of overuse and a climate change-fueled drought, the river that serves 40 million people in seven western states and Mexico is draining at an alarming rate.

The water levels in its two main reservoirs – Lake Mead and Lake Powell – have plunged rapidly, threatening drinking water supply and power generation. In late July, Lake Mead – the country’s largest reservoir – bottomed out and has only rebounded a few feet off record lows. Its rapidly plunging levels revealed human remains from the 1970s and a sunken vessel from World War II.

The federal government implemented its first-ever mandatory water cuts this year for states that draw from the Colorado River, and those cuts will be even deeper starting in January 2023.

Floods caused by record monsoon rain and melting glaciers in Pakistan’s northern mountain regions claimed the lives of more than 1,400 people this summer, with millions more affected by clean water and food shortages. More than a third of Pakistan was underwater, satellite images showed, and authorities warned it would take months for the flood waters to recede in the country’s hardest-hit areas.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said the Pakistani people are facing “a monsoon on steroids,” referring to the role that the climate crisis had in supercharging the extreme rainfall. The hard-hit provinces Sindh and Balochistan saw rainfall more than 500% of average during the monsoon season.

Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s planet-warming emissions, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index.

Hurricane Ian was a Category 4 storm when it made landfall in southwest Florida in late September and left a trail of destruction from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Insured losses from Ian are expected to reach up to $65 billion, according to recent data from reinsurance company Swiss Re.

The storm first struck Cuba before undergoing rapid intensification from a tropical storm to a category 3 hurricane in just 24 hours – something scientists told CNN is part of a trend for the most dangerous storms. That same week, Super Typhoon Noru in the Philippines grew from the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane to a category 5 overnight as residents around Manila slept, catching officials and residents unaware and unable to prepare.

Hurricane Ian’s size and intensity allowed it to build up a storm surge higher than any ever observed in Southwest Florida, devastating Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Ian killed more than 100 people, most by drowning. It will likely be one of the costliest hurricanes on record not only in Florida, but in the US.

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December 28, 2022
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.

___

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

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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
Indonesia’s Mt. Semeru eruption buries homes, damages bridge

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SUMBERWULUH, Indonesia — Improved weather conditions Monday allowed rescuers to resume evacuation efforts and a search for possible victims after the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island erupted, triggered by monsoon rains.

Mount Semeru in Lumajang district in East Java province spewed thick columns of ash more than 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) into the sky Sunday. Villages and nearby towns were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported.

Hundreds of rescuers were deployed Monday in the worst-hit villages of Sumberwuluh and Supiturang, where houses and mosques were buried to their rooftops by tons of volcanic debris.

Heavy rains had eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop the 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) volcano, causing an avalanche of blistering gas and lava down its slopes toward a nearby river. Searing gas raced down the sides of the mountain, smothering entire villages and destroying a bridge that had just been rebuilt after a powerful eruption last year.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2021, when it blew up with a fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The government moved about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone, including from Sumberwuluh village.

Lumajang district chief Thoriqul Haq said villagers who are still haunted by last year’s eruption fled on their own when they heard the mountain start to rumble early Sunday, so that “casualties could be avoided.”

“They have learned an important lesson on how to avoid the danger of eruption,” he said while inspecting a damaged bridge in Kajar Kuning hamlet.

He said nearly 2,000 people escaped to emergency shelters at several schools, but many were returned to their homes Monday to tend their livestock and protect their property.

Increased volcanic activity Sunday afternoon prompted authorities to widen the danger zone to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, and scientists raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

People were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.

Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

———

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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December 4, 2022
Indonesia’s Mt. Semeru unleashes lava river in new eruption

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava Sunday in its latest eruption.

Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.

Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported. Several hundred residents, their faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.

Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) into the sky while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru’s slopes toward a nearby river.

Increased activities of the volcano on Sunday afternoon prompted authorities to widen the danger zone to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.

He said scientists raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest and people were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December last year, when it blew up with fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The government moved about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone.

Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the last 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

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December 4, 2022
Indonesia raises alert after Mount Semeru volcano erupts | CNN

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CNN
—

Indonesia raised its warning to the highest level on Sunday after Mount Semeru, a volcano in its East Java province, erupted, prompting evacuations of nearby residents.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency said the plume from the volcano reached 15 kilometers (roughly 50,000 feet) into the air.

The agency said in a statement Sunday it is monitoring for the possibility of a tsunami, but that no significant tide level changes had been observed at observation points in Japan and overseas.

Indonesia’s disaster management agency (BNPB) advised people not to carry out activities within a 5-kilometer (roughly 3 mile) radius from the top of Mount Semeru and said nearly 100 residents have evacuated.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths so far.

Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, PVMBG, said in a statement the alert level of volcanic activity had been raised to the highest Level IV from Level III.

Mount Semeru, which lies around 500 miles (800 kilometers ) southeast of the capital Jakarta, began erupting at 2:46 am local time Sunday (2:46pmET Saturday), according to BNPB. Videos shared by BNPB showed nearby villages blanketed in grey ash.

The evacuation of people, which includes children and seniors, living near the volcano in East Java province is underway with 93 residents so far evacuated to shelters, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, BNPB said in a statement seen by Reuters news agency.

With the raised alert level, authorities warned residents not to conduct any activities within 8 km (5 miles) of Semeru’s eruption centre, adding hot ash clouds had reached as far as 11.8 miles (19 km) from the center of the eruption.

PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan said the agency saw the potential for a bigger supply of magma this year compared to previous eruptions in 2021 and 2020.

“Therefore Semeru’s hot clouds could reach further (this year) and at that distance there are many residences,” he said.

Java is the largest population center in Indonesia’s massive island archipelago and home to the capital city of Jakarta. Standing at more than 12,000 feet high, Mount Semeru is the tallest mountain on Java.

The eruption on the eastern part of Java follows a series of earthquakes on the west of the island, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.

The deadly late-November quake that hit West Java’s Cianjur was a shallow temblor of 5.6 magnitude. A much deeper quake on Saturday in Gurat of 6.1 magnitude sent people running from buildings but did not cause major damage.

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December 4, 2022
Indonesia’s Mt. Semeru unleashes lava river in new eruption

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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava in its latest eruption Sunday.

Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari, citing information from the Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry.

Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported.

Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1,500 meters (nearly 4,000 feet) into the sky, while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru’s slopes, traveling toward a nearby river.

People were advised to stay 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the crater’s mouth, and keep off the southeastern sector area along the Besuk Kobokan river located about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the crater.

Several hundred people were moved to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas, mostly woman, children and elders, said Joko Sambang who heads the disaster management agency in Lumajang, East Java province.

Semeru’s last major eruption was in December last year, when the rumbling volcano erupted with fury and left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others were injured with serious burns, and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 villagers. The government moved about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone.

Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the last 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes monitored in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

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December 3, 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
Hawaii volcano’s lava oozes toward key Big Island highway

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KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Rivers of glowing lava oozing from the world’s largest volcano could swallow the main highway linking the east and west coasts of Hawaii’s Big Island as early as this weekend, and there’s nothing humans can do to stop it, experts said.

Mauna Loa awoke from its 38-year slumber Sunday, spewing volcanic ash and debris into the sky. The molten rock is drawing thousands of awestruck viewers to Route 200 as it passes near Volcanoes National Park, and they endure a thick smell of volcanic gases and sulfur to watch the wide stream of lava creep closer.

“It’s a thrill,” said Kathryn Tarananda, 66, of Waimea. She set two alarms to make sure she didn’t miss her chance to see the sun rise against the backdrop of the eruptions. “We’re out in the middle of raw nature. It’s awe inspiring that we live in this place. … I feel really, really fortunate to be an islander.”

The lava tumbling slowly down the slope has drawn within several miles of the highway, which runs through old lava flows. Known as Saddle Road, it bisects the island, connecting the cities of Hilo and Kailua-Kona. If it becomes impassable, the alternative is a longer coastal road, adding several hours of driving time.

Ken Hon, scientist in charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said Wednesday that at the current flow rate, the lava could reach the road in as little as two days, though it will likely take longer. “As the lava flow spreads out, it will probably interfere with its own progress,” Hon said.

Lava crossed the Mauna Loa Observatory access road Monday night and cut off its power, Hon said. It’s the world’s premier station that measures heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The federal government is looking for a temporary alternate site on the Hawaiian island and is contemplating flying a generator to the observatory to get its power back so it can take measurements again.

Meanwhile, scientists are trying to measure the gas emitted from the eruption.

Anne Andersen left her overnight shift as a nurse to see the spectacle Wednesday, afraid the road would soon be closed.

“It’s Mother Nature showing us her face,” she said, as the volcano belched gas on the horizon. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Gordon Brown, visiting from Loomis, California, could see the bright orange lava from the bedroom of his rental house, so he and his wife went out for a closer view. “It is so bright, it just blows my mind,” Brown 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, so visitors to the national park were treated to the rare sight of two simultaneous eruptive events: the glow from Kilauea’s lava lake and lava from a Mauna Loa fissure.

Officials were initially concerned that lava flowing down Mauna Loa would head toward the community of South Kona, but scientists later assured the public the eruption had migrated to a rift zone on the volcano’s northeast flank and wasn’t threatening communities.

Gov. David Ige has issued an emergency proclamation to allow responders to arrive quickly or limit access as needed. He’s dealt with multiple volcanic eruptions during his eight years as governor, and said it’s impossible to redirect the glowing rock.

“There is no physical way or technological way to change the course of where the lava flows,” Ige told a news conference, recalling how many wished it was possible in 2018, when Kilauea sent lava pouring across homes, farms and roads.

“The power of Mother Nature and Madam Pele overwhelms anything that we can do,” Ige said, referring to the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire.

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.

———

Kelleher reported from Honolulu. Selsky reported from Salem, Oregon. Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Greg Bull and Haven Daley in Hilo.

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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 volcano eruption has some on alert, draws onlookers

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HILO, Hawaii — The first eruption in 38 years of the world’s largest active volcano is attracting onlookers to a national park for “spectacular” views of the event, and it’s also dredging up bad memories among some Hawaii residents who have been through harrowing volcanic experiences in the past.

It was just four years ago that Nicole Skilling fled her home near a community where more than 700 residences were destroyed by lava. She relocated to the South Kona area, only to find herself packing her car with food and supplies this week after Mauna Loa erupted late Sunday.

Officials were initially concerned that lava flowing down the side of the volcano would head toward South Kona, but scientists later assured the public that the eruption migrated to a rift zone on Mauna Loa’s northeast flank and wasn’t threatening any communities.

Still, the uncertainty is somewhat unnerving.

“It just happened last night, so I really haven’t had a lot of time to worry about it yet, basically,” Skilling said Monday. “And thankfully, right now, it’s at the northeast rift zone. But if it breaks on the west side, that’s when we’re talking about coming into a large populated area. … That’s why I do have a little bit of PTSD.”

Even though there were no evacuation orders, some people decided to leave their homes, prompting officials to open shelters in the Kona and Kau areas. Very few if any stayed in them overnight, Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth said, and they would be closing Tuesday.

“Cleary the danger for the Kau area and Kona area has gone, so there’s really no need to have the shelter up there any longer,” Roth said.

Despite that, some in the area were preparing for unpredictable changes.

Kamakani Rivera-Kekololio, who lives in the south Kona community of Hookena, was keeping supplies like food and blankets in his car.

“We’re being makaukau for anything,” Rivera-Kekololio said, using the Hawaiian word for “ready.”

Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said Tuesday that the lava was flowing “not super fast” at less than 1 mph. It was moving downhill about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Saddle Road, which connects the east and west sides of the island. The flow was likely to slow down about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the road when it hits flatter ground.

Lava crossed the Mauna Loa Observatory access road Monday night and cut off power to the facility, Hon added. It could move toward the county seat of Hilo, but that could take a week or longer.

Meanwhile, scientists are trying to measure the gas emitted from the eruption.

“It’s just very early in this eruption right now,” Hon said.

The eruption is drawing visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is open 24 hours a day. “The viewing has been spectacular” especially before sunrise and at night, park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said.

Visitors there are currently able to witness two eruptive events: the glow from Kilauea’s lava lake and lava from a Mauna Loa fissure.

“This is a rare time where we have two eruptions happening simultaneously,” Ferracane said.

Hilo resident Lea Ferreira said she doesn’t plan to be one of those spectators. And she’s not worried about this eruption because she remembers the last one in 1984.

“This is nothing. She came out quiet, very quiet,” she said, referring to Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire. “In 1984, you could see the flow high in the air.”

Ferreira said she could see only a bit of the glow and a “very small amount of lava” from Hilo.

Some people were driving to get a closer look, but Ferreira won’t: “I’ll let her do her thing.”

———

Kelleher reported from Honolulu. Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed.

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November 29, 2022
Lava from Hawaii volcano lights night sky amid warnings

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KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Waves of orange, glowing lava and ash blasted and billowed from the world’s largest active volcano in its first eruption in 38 years, and officials told people living on Hawaii’s Big Island to be ready in the event of a worst-case scenario.

The eruption of Mauna Loa wasn’t immediately endangering towns, but the U.S. Geological Survey warned the roughly 200,000 people on the Big Island that an eruption “can be very dynamic, and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly.”

Officials told residents to be ready to evacuate if lava flows start heading toward populated areas. Monday night, hundreds of people lined a road as lava flowed down the side of Mauna Loa and fountained into the air.

The eruption migrated northeast throughout Monday and spread out over the side of the volcano, with several distinct streams of lava running down the hillside.

The eruption began late Sunday night following a series of fairly large earthquakes, said Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The areas where lava was emerging — the volcano’s summit crater and vents along the volcano’s northeast flank — are both far from homes and communities.

Officials urged the public to stay away from them, given the dangers posed by lava, which is shooting 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) into the air out of three separate fissures roughly estimated to be 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 kilometers) long.

Volcanic gases wafting out of the vents, primarily sulfur dioxide, are also harmful.

Air quality on the Big Island more generally is good right now, but officials are monitoring it carefully, said Dr. Libby Char, the director of the state Department of Health.

Hon said air quality could deteriorate while the eruption lasts, which scientists expect will be about one or two weeks if the volcano follows historical patterns.

Lifelong Big Island resident Bobby Camara, who lives in Volcano Village, said everyone across the island should keep track of the eruption. He said he’s seen three Mauna Loa eruptions in his lifetime and stressed the need for vigilance.

“I think everybody should be a little bit concerned,” he said. “We don’t know where the flow is going, we don’t know how long it’s going to last.”

Gunner Mench, who owns an art gallery in Kamuela, said he awoke shortly after midnight and saw an alert on his phone about the eruption.

Mench and his wife, Ellie, ventured out to film the eerie red glow cast over the island, watching as lava spilled down the volcano’s side.

“You could see it spurting up into the air, over the edge of this depression,” Mench said.

“Right now it’s just entertainment, but the concern is” it could reach populated areas, he said.

Seeing Mauna Loa erupt is a new experience for many residents of the Big Island, where the population has more than doubled from 92,000 in 1980.

More than a third of the island’s residents live either in the city of Kailua-Kona to the west of the volcano, or about 23,000 people, and Hilo to the east, with about 45,000. Officials were most worried about several subdivisions some 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the volcano’s south that are home to about 5,000 people.

A time-lapse video of the eruption from overnight showed lava lighting up one area, moving across it like waves on the ocean.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the eruption had migrated to a rift zone on the volcano’s northeast flank. Rift zones are where the mountain rock is cracked and relatively weak — making it easier for magma to emerge.

Lava could move toward the county seat of Hilo, but that could take about a week, Hon said at a news conference.

Scientists hope the flow will parallel the 1984 eruption, where the lava was more viscous and slowed down.

Mauna Loa has another rift zone on its southwest flank. Lava could reach nearby communities in hours or days if the volcano erupts from this area. But Hon said historically Mauna Loa has never erupted from both rift zones simultaneously.

“So we presume at this point that all of the future activity is going to be on the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa and not on the southeast rift zone,” he said. “So those residents in that area do not have to worry about lava flows.”

Hawaii County Civil Defense announced it had opened shelters because it had reports of people evacuating from along the coast on their own initiative.

The USGS warned residents who could be threatened by the lava flows to 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. It said up to a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of ash could accumulate in some areas.

“Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s hair may be carried downwind,” Gov. David Ige said, referring to glass fibers that form when hot lava erupts from a fissure and rapidly cools in the air. The wind stretches the fibers into long strands that look like hair. “So certainly we would ask those with respiratory sensitivities to take precautions to minimize exposure.”

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

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

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

Mauna Loa’s volume is estimated at least 18,000 square miles (75,000 square kilometers), making it the world’s largest volcano when measured from the ocean floor its summit.

Tourism is Hawaii’s economic engine but Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth predicted few problems for those vacationing during the eruption.

“It will be spectacular where it is, but the chances of it really interrupting the visitor industry — very, very slim,” he said.

Tourism officials said no one should have to change Big Island travel plans.

For some, the eruption might cut down on some travel time, even if there is more 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.”

———

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Alina Hartounian in Phoenix; and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska.

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November 29, 2022
EXPLAINER: What hazards are posed by Hawaii’s Mauna Loa?

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HONOLULU — Lava is shooting 100 feet to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) into the air as Hawaii‘s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years.

For now, lava is not threatening any homes or communities and no evacuation orders have been issued. Lava could eventually reach neighborhoods as it flows downhill though it could take a week or more for molten rock to reach populated areas.

Mauna Loa is spewing sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases. They form volcanic smog, or vog, when they mix with vapor, oxygen and dust in sunlight. As a result, state health officials are urging people to cut back on outdoor exercise and other activities that cause heavy breathing.

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. It’s smaller, more active neighbor, Kilauea volcano, has been erupting continuously for more than a year since September 2021.

WHERE IS MAUNA LOA?

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. It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.

It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.

Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago. The current eruption is its 34th since written history began in 1843.

The Big Island is mostly rural and hosts cattle ranches and coffee farms but it is also home to a few small cities, including the county seat of Hilo which has a population of 45,000.

It’s about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Hawaii’s most populous island, Oahu, where the state capital Honolulu and beach resort Waikiki are both located.

Mauna Loa’s volume is estimated at least 18,000 square miles (75,000 square kilometers), making it the world’s largest volcano when measured from the ocean floor to its summit.

WHERE IS MAUNA LOA ERUPTING FROM?

The eruption began Sunday night at its summit after a series of large earthquakes. It then spread to vents that formed in a rift zone where the mountain is splitting apart and it’s easier for magma to emerge.

These vents are on the mountain’s northeast side and lava emerging there could head toward Hilo which is on the east side of the island.

Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said he doesn’t expect additional vents to form on the volcano’s southwest rift zone during this eruption. That means communities to the west would be spared lava flows this time.

Mauna Loa’s also erupted from the northeast in 1984. That time, lava headed toward Hilo but stopped a few miles short of the city.

Historically, each Mauna Loa eruption has lasted a few weeks. Hon expects the current eruption to follow this pattern.

IS MAUNA LOA EXPLODING LIKE MOUNT ST. HELENS?

Mauna Loa is not exploding like Washington state’s Mount St. Helens did in 1980, killing 57 people. That eruption sent ash soaring over 80,000 feet (24,384 meters) and raining down as far as 250 miles (400 kilometers) away.

The magma in Mount St. Helens tends to be stickier and traps more gas, making it much more likely to explode when it rises. It’s of a variety called composite volcanoes, which form concave cones.

Mauna Loa’s magma tends to be hotter, drier and more fluid. That allows the magma’s gas to escape and lava to flow down the side the volcano the way it is starting to do now. Mauna Loa is a shield volcano, named because the long, broad flanks built by repeated lava flows give it the appearance of a warrior’s shield.

In 1989, Alaska’s Redoubt Volcano, another composite volcano, belched an 8-mile cloud of ash that clogged all four engines of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines jet. The plane fell 13,000 feet before all engines restarted and the plane landed without injury to the 245 people aboard.

Mauna Loa released some ash this time but on a vastly smaller scale than these examples from composite volcanoes.

WHAT HAZARDS ARE POSED BY MAUNA LOA’S ERUPTION?

-Lava: Molten rock could cover houses, farms or neighborhoods, depending on where it flows. But lava from the northeast rift zone will likely take at least a week to reach populated areas allowing people time to evacuate if needed.

-Volcanic gas: Mauna Loa is releasing volcanic gases, mostly sulfur dioxide. The gases are present in their highest concentrations in the immediate area around the summit crater or vents. But they also combine with other particles to form vog, which can spread across the Big Island and even waft over to the state’s other islands.

Vog can give healthy people burning eyes, headaches and sore throats. It can send those with asthma or other respiratory problems to the hospital.

-Glass particles: When hot lava erupts from a fissure and rapidly cools, it forms glass particles named “Pele’s hair” and “Pele’s tears” after the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes.

The particles tend not to travel far from volcanic vents — maybe only a few hundred yards or a mile and won’t threaten many people, said Aaron Pietruszka, an associate specialist at the University of Hawaii’s Department of Earth Sciences.

“It just literally looks like hair strands. And that’s where the fluid lava is stretched by the wind to make long, thin strands,” said Pietruszka.

The glass bits — as short as a few millimeters or as long as a few inches — can be sharp.

“You wouldn’t want to be digging your hands in it because you could get a cut,” Pietruszka said.

An N95 or KF94 mask would protect against these glass particles but not against volcanic gas, said Dr. Libby Char, the director of the state Department of Health.

“Pele’s hair” specimens from Kilauea volcano’s eruption are visible at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

HOW SIGNIFICANT ARE MAUNA LOA’S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS?

Mauna Loa released about 15,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day during its 1984 eruption, according to USGS data.

That’s equivalent to the annual emissions from 2,400 sport utility vehicles.

Scientists say all of Earth’s volcanoes combined emit less than one percent of the carbon dioxide that humans produce each year.

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November 28, 2022
Mauna Loa is erupting for the first time since 1984, prompting an ashfall advisory for Hawaii’s Big Island | CNN

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CNN
—

The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is erupting for the first time in nearly 40 years, sparking an ashfall advisory Monday for Hawaii’s Big Island and surrounding waters until 6 a.m. HST (11 a.m. ET).

Up to a quarter inch of ashfall could accumulate on portions of the island.

“People with respiratory illnesses should remain indoors to avoid inhaling the ash particles and anyone outside should cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth,” the National Weather Service in Honolulu warned.

“Possible harm to crops and animals. Minor equipment and infrastructure damage. Reduced visibility. Widespread clean-up may be necessary,” it added.

The eruption, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, is not threatening downhill communities or flights to the Island of Hawaii, the Hawaii Tourism Authority tweeted Monday morning.

Lava flows are contained in the summit area and do not threaten downslope communities, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. Winds may carry volcanic gas and fine ash downwind.

“Based on past events, the early stages of a Mauna Loa eruption can be very dynamic and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly,” the observatory said, adding, “If the eruption remains in Moku’āweoweo, lava flows will most likely be confined within the caldera walls.

“However, if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope.”

The eruption began in Moku’āweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, on Sunday around 11:30 p.m. HST (4:30 a.m. ET Monday), according to the observatory.

Mauna Loa, which covers half the island of Hawaii, has erupted 33 times since 1843, the volcano’s first “well-documented historical eruption,” according to the US Geological Survey. It last erupted in 1984, making this prolonged quiet period the volcano’s longest in recorded history.

The volcano has recently been in a heightened state of unrest, per the agency, which pointed in an update late last month to elevated seismic activity and increased earthquake rates.

Earthquake activity increased from five to 10 earthquakes a day since June 2022 to some 10 to 20 earthquakes a day in July and August, according to the US Geological Survey. Peak numbers of more than 100 earthquakes a day were recorded on September 23 and September 29, CNN has reported.

The increased activity prompted Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in October to close the Mauna Loa summit to all backcountry hikers until further notice, though the US National Park Service said the main section of the park has remained open.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the Eastern Time equivalents for the ashfall advisory and eruption.

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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
Remote undersea volcano likely erupting in Pacific Ocean

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HONOLULU — A volcano is likely erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don’t know for sure because it’s so inaccessible.

All indications are that the Ahyi Seamount began erupting in mid-October, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Honolulu.

Scientists are looking to see if the activity is shallow earthquakes or if material exploded from the crater, said Matt Haney, a USGS research geophysicist. Scientists are checking satellite data to see if there’s discolored water, which could suggest material is coming out of the volcano, he said.

“There’s nothing right now that suggests that this eruption will intensify and become a large eruption,” Haney said.

Still, mariners would want to avoid the immediate area, he said.

Activity from an undersea volcanic source was picked up last month by hydroacoustic sensors some 1,400 miles away (2250 kilometers) at Wake Island.

With help from the the Laboratoire de Geophysique in Tahiti and data from seismic stations in Guam and Japan, scientists analyzed the signals to determine the source of the activity was likely Ahyi Seamount, the USGS said in a statement.

Activity has been declining in recent days, the statement said.

Ahyi seamount is a large conical submarine volcano. Its highest point is 259 feet (79 meters) below the surface of the ocean. It’s located about 11 miles (18 kilometers) southeast of the island of Farallon de Pajaros, also known as Uracas.

“There are no local monitoring stations near Ahyi Seamount, which limits our ability to detect and characterize volcanic unrest there,” the agency said. “We will continue to monitor available remote hydrophonic, seismic, and satellite data closely.”

The seamount is part of the Mariana Volcanic Arc, which is a chain of over 60 active volcanoes stretching over 600 miles west of and parallel to the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest point.

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November 14, 2022

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