Red alert issued as Hawaii's Kilauea volcano starts erupting and spewing lava

797     0
Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano (Image: Getty Images)
Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano (Image: Getty Images)

Another volcano has started erupting in Hawaii less than a month after Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava in the Pacific island state.

Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images which indicated that Kilauea had begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit caldera, the agency said.

Kilauea’s summit is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities, although hundreds of homes had to be evacuated when it erupted five years ago.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It last erupted for 16 months starting in September 2021.

Four feared dead in horror plane crash as wreckage spotted near remote volcano eiqrdidrqidekinvFour feared dead in horror plane crash as wreckage spotted near remote volcano
Red alert issued as Hawaii's Kilauea volcano starts erupting and spewing lavaKilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes (Drew Downs/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

For about two weeks starting on November 27, Hawaii had two volcanoes spewing lava side by side when Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years. Both volcanoes stopped erupting at about the same time.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey raised the alert level for Kilauea due to signs that magma was moving below the summit surface, an indication that the volcano might erupt.

In November last year, residents living near Mauna Loa were put on standby to evacuate as the ongoing eruption spewed fountains of lava up to 60m (200ft) in the air.

Island inhabitants will remember the eruption of Kilauea in 2018; an event that destroyed about 700 homes.

Audrey McAvoy

Geological Survey, Volcanoes

Read more similar news:

06.01.2023, 09:05 • News
Incredible photos of Kilauea volcano eruption show huge lava 'ring of fire'
11.01.2023, 12:01 • News
UFO spotter captures photo of huge flying disk hiding behind erupting volcano
11.04.2023, 08:05 • News
Huge volcanic eruption sends ash cloud 12 miles into sky in apocalyptic scenes
12.04.2023, 11:37 • News
New eruptions from Russian volcano send fresh ash clouds spewing miles into sky
14.04.2023, 14:21 • News
Volcano eruption horror as chilling footage shows crow cemented to death
22.04.2023, 14:02 • News
Woman spends 32 days living on top of a volcano in a bid to empower females
22.05.2023, 09:03 • More
Flights grounded and airport shuts as Europe's most active volcano erupts
22.05.2023, 11:24 • More
Brits unlikely to get money back for flights cancelled due to volcano eruption
07.06.2023, 15:18 • News
Volcano spews terrifying red lava as it dramatically erupts in Hawaii
08.06.2023, 10:50 • News
Hawaii Kilauea volcano still erupting lava as visitors warned to stay away