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Tag: Volcanoes

  • Indonesia’s Mt. Semeru unleashes lava river in new eruption

    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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  • Molten lava on Hawaii’s Big Island could block main highway

    Molten lava on Hawaii’s Big Island could block main highway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ———

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

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  • Molten lava on Hawaii’s Big Island could block main highway

    Molten lava on Hawaii’s Big Island could block main highway

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ———

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

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  • FSU geologist available to comment on Mauna Loa eruption

    FSU geologist available to comment on Mauna Loa eruption

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    Newswise — The Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet, is erupting for the first time since 1984.

    Vincent Salters, director of the Geochemistry Program at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Florida State University, is available to speak to media about the geology behind this eruption.

    Salters researches the cycling of elements in the Earth and the chemical and physical processes that lead to the planet’s different layers. He studies samples from deeper in the Earth that come to the surface during volcanic eruptions or through large faults. He has extensively published on the chemistry and origin of volcanism at hot spots, such as Hawaii, as well as mid-ocean ridges.

    He is a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and editor of AGU Advances.

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    Florida State University

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  • For many Hawaiians, lava flows are a time to honor, reflect

    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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  • Prayers? Bombs? Hawaii history shows stopping lava not easy

    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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  • Hawaii volcano eruption has some on alert, draws onlookers

    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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  • EXPLAINER: What hazards are posed by Hawaii’s Mauna Loa?

    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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  • Volcanology expert available to comment on the eruption of Mauna Loa

    Volcanology expert available to comment on the eruption of Mauna Loa

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    Volcanology expert available to comment on the eruption of Mauna Loa.

    Dr Carmen Solana, Reader in Volcanology and Risk Communications at the University of Portsmouth, is available for interview. 

    Dr Solana said: “Mauna Loa is finally erupted after many years in repose, and it seems to be erupting from the summit, which is the less dangerous scenario as lava should be contained within the caldera. Scientists in the HVO will be watching for the potential opening of an erupting fissure in the flank that would mean that lava could reach inhabited areas quickly. This is a very exciting occurrence, we have been waiting for a while for Mauna Loa to reawake. 

    “It is the largest volcano in the world and mainly erupts lava, but in the past it has reached large distances and into inhabited areas.”

     

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

    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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  • Hawaii’s Mauna Loa starts to erupt, sending ash nearby

    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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  • Remote undersea volcano likely erupting in Pacific Ocean

    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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  • EXPLAINER: Where will Hawaii’s biggest volcano erupt from?

    EXPLAINER: Where will Hawaii’s biggest volcano erupt from?

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    HONOLULU — The ground is shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, indicating that it could erupt. Scientists say they don’t expect that to happen right away but officials on the Big Island of Hawaii are telling residents to be prepared in case it does erupt soon. Here’s are some things to know about the volcano.

    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 currently erupting from its summit crater. Kilauea 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. In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

    The Big Island is mostly rural and is home to cattle ranches, coffee farms and beach resorts. 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.

    WILL MAUNA LOA ERUPT LIKE KILAUEA?

    Mauna Loa’s eruptions differ from Kilauea’s in part because it is taller. It’s greater height gives it steeper slopes, which allow lava to rush down its hillsides faster than Kilauea’s.

    It’s enormous size may allow it to store more magma, leading to larger lava flows when an eruption occurs.

    Frank Trusdell, research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which is part of the U.S. Geological Survey, said data indicates that Mauna Loa has a much larger magma reservoir than Kilauea, which may allow it to hold more lava and rest longer between eruptions than Kilauea.

    WHERE WILL MAUNA LOA ERUPT FROM?

    Scientists won’t know until the eruption begins. Each eruption since 1843 started at the summit. Half the time, the volcano later also began erupting from vents at lower elevations. The other half of the time it only erupted in the summit caldera.

    Scientists can’t tell far in advance when and where Mauna Loa will open new vents and erupt.

    Vents generally form along the volcano’s rift zone. That’s where the mountain is splitting apart, the rock is cracked and relatively weak and it’s easier for magma to emerge.

    An eruption from vents on the southwest rift zone could hit residential communities, coffee farms or coastal villages on the west side of the island. Lava could reach homes in just hours or days.

    The west side’s most populous town would be protected from any Mauna Loa eruption by the presence of another active volcano. The broad flanks of that volcano, Hualalai, sit between Mauna Loa’s southwest rift zone and Kailua-Kona and would block any lava heading toward the coastal community.

    An eruption from the northeast rift zone could send lava toward the county seat of Hilo or other towns in East Hawaii. It could take lava weeks or months to reach populated areas on this side of the mountain.

    Scott Rowland, a geologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said there’s no pattern when it comes to where an eruption will occur.

    “Just because the last one was on the northeast rift zone does not mean the next one will be down the southwest rift zone,” he said.

    WILL MAUNA LOA EXPLODE LIKE MOUNT ST. HELENS?

    Fifty-seven people died when Washington state’s Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 and blasted more than 1,300 feet (400 meters) off the top of the mountain. Steam, rocks and volcanic gas burst upward and outward. A plume of volcanic ash rose over 80,000 feet (24,384 meters) and rained down as far as 250 miles (400 kilometers) away.

    Hawaii volcanoes like Mauna Loa tend not to have explosion eruptions like this.

    That’s because their magma is hotter, drier and more fluid, said Hannah Dietterich, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Volcano Observatory.

    The magma in Mount St. Helens tends to be stickier and traps more gas, making it much more likely to explode when it rises.

    The gas in the magma of Hawaii’s volcanoes tends to escape, and so lava flows down the side of their mountains when they erupt.

    Hawaii’s volcanoes are called shield volcanoes because successive lava flows over hundreds of thousands of years build broad mountains that resemble the shape of a warrior’s shield.

    Shield volcanos are also found in California and Idaho as well as Iceland and the Galapagos Islands. Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park has eight shield volcanoes including Mount Wrangell.

    Volcanoes like Mount St. Helens are called composite or stratovolcanoes. Their steep, conical slopes are built by the eruption of viscous lava flows and rock, ash and gas. Japan’s Mount Fuji is another example of a composite volcano.

    HOW DO SCIENTISTS MONITOR MAUNA LOA?

    The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has more than 60 GPS stations on Mauna Loa taking measurements to estimate the location and the amount of magma accumulating beneath the surface.

    Scientists use tiltmeters to track long-term changes in the tilting of the ground, helping them identify when the ground is swelling or deflating. A rapid change in tilt can indicate when an eruption will occur.

    There’s also a thermal webcam at Mauna Loa’s summit that will identify the presence of heat. And satellite radar can keep track of ground swelling and deflation.

    ———

    Associated Press Writer Mark Thiessen contributed to this report from Anchorage, Alaska.

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  • 5.0 earthquake hits during Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano unrest

    5.0 earthquake hits during Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano unrest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  • Chile: Easter Island fire damages some statues

    Chile: Easter Island fire damages some statues

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    SANTIAGO, Chile — A fire that ripped through part of Chile’s Easter Island this week has caused permanent damage to some of its iconic carved stone figures known as moai, authorities said.

    The high temperature of the forest fire accelerated the process through which the stone carvings will eventually turn into sand, the mayor of the island locally known as Rapa Nui said.

    The damage is “irreparable and immeasurable as well,” Mayor Pedro Edmunds Paoa said.

    The Chilean island that lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has some 800 moais, half of which are inside the Rano Raraku volcano.

    The fire this week blazed through 104 acres and particularly affected an area inside the volcano where there are around 100 moais, around 20 percent of which have been damaged, Edmunds Paoa said. There are also some damaged structures outside the volcano.

    The high temperatures calcinate the stone of the moais, which leads it to “crack” and with time “it starts to collapse,” Edmunds Paoa told a local radio station.

    The mayor blamed locals who raise cows and horses in the island and regularly burn grassland.

    Edmunds Paoa accused the state of abandoning the island.

    “The work of avoiding accidents and fires involves a prevention plan that requires resources and that’s what we don’t have,” he said.

    Ninoska Huki, the local head of the National Forest Corporation, had said earlier that the island lacked firefighters.

    Officials are currently working to determine how much the fire has affected the island, which is around 3,700 kilometers from mainland Chile and is inhabited by some 7,700 people.

    The island is known around the world for its moais, stone structures that are thought to weigh around 14 tons, and the Rapa Nui National Park covers around 40 percent of the island.

    Since 2019, Easter Island is locally known as Rapa Nui-Easter Island.

    The island only reopened to tourists in August after it was closed off for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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