Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts again after a month’s lull as alert level raised to ‘red’
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano began erupting on Thursday after a nearly month-long lull in volcanic activity.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images indicating the volcano has begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater at the summit caldera. The eruption began at 4.30pm local time, it said.
The alert level has been raised to a warning and its aviation colour code to “red”.
The US Geological Survey on Thursday raised the alert level for Kilauea due to signs that magma was moving below the summit surface, indicating that the volcano might erupt.
Webcam images shared by the authorities showed fissures at the base of the crater producing a lava flow on the surface.
According to officials, Kilauea’s summit is confined inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and does not pose a threat to residential communities.
Webcam view (KWcam) -- fissure opened within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera at about 4:34 PM HST on January 5, 2023. pic.twitter.com/Nem3eVODRz
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) January 6, 2023
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, which last erupted for 16 months starting September 2021.
In November last year, Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years as Hawaii witnessed two active volcanos spewing lava side by side. Both volcanos stropped erupting at the same time.
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