ANNOUNCEMENTS•
The eruptions of the Hawaiian volcanoes Mauna Loa and Kilauea have ended. Geologists from the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have therefore set the alert level for both volcanoes lowered. Geologists continue to keep a close eye on the two volcanoes.
On Saturday, the lava flowing from the flanks of Mauna Loa stopped. Even then it was clear that lava from the volcano no longer posed a threat to a major highway on the Big Island, the most volcanic island in the archipelago.
Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano in the world. The eruption, which began late last month, was the volcano’s first eruption in nearly 40 years.
Eruption of more than a year
In Kilauea, scientists already saw on Friday that the volcano’s lava lake was no longer filled with new lava. The eruption started in September last year. In 2018, another Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 homes.
Recent eruptions have drawn a lot of attention to the Big Island. Hotels in the city of Hilo, among others, were fully booked in what is normally the off-season. On the highway near the Mauna Loa lava flow, a long line of cars filled with people who wanted to see the natural phenomenon with their own eyes.