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Hot lava spews from the world’s largest active volcano in Hawaii. Residents in the surrounding areas are asked to be prepared for a speedy evacuation.
The eruption, which began late Sunday evening local time, is the first at Mauna Loa volcano in nearly 40 years.
The lava spewed from the crater reaches a height of up to 60 meters, according to the authorities.
The epidemic has not yet led to evacuations or immediate danger to nearby towns.
But authorities are now warning the estimated 200,000 residents that the eruption can be unpredictable and that lava flows can change direction quickly.
Residents are asked to be ready to evacuate on short notice.
– Everyone should be a little worried. We don’t know where the currents will flow and we don’t know how long it will last, says Bobby Camara. He lives nearby and has witnessed three eruptions from the volcano in his life.
If this outbreak is as big as previous outbreaks, it could last a week or two, according to experts.
Roads closed
An eruption can be very dynamic, and lava flows can be unpredictable and change course quickly, warns the USGS. During an eruption in 1950, lava flowed 24 kilometers to the coast in less than three hours.
Local authorities have not yet issued evacuation orders despite several roads in the regions being closed due to the epidemic, but civil protection has opened reception centers as some residents have moved from exposed coastal areas on their own initiative.
The eruption has been in the news for the past few weeks and began Sunday evening after several relatively strong earthquakes. At first the lava remained inside the crater, but on Monday it began to emerge from fissures in the mountainside.
In the worst-case scenario, the lava could reach the island’s largest city, Hilo, but it would take about a week, says Ken Hon of the Hawaii Volcanic Center.
Watch the video from the volcano here:
Quiet for 38 years
Mauna Loa lay dormant for nearly 40 years after its last eruption in 1984. It is one of five volcanoes that make up The Big Island, which is the southeastmost of the Big Islands of Hawaii.
Mauna Loa isn’t the tallest of the five, but it is the largest and takes up about half the island’s area. In 2018, the nearby Kilauea volcano had an eruption that lasted several weeks and affected a housing estate where 700 homes were destroyed.
Tourism is Hawaii’s main industry, although the Big Island isn’t the main destination, but Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth expects no problems from the eruption, although it could be spectacular.
– The good news is, you won’t have to drive from Kona to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see an eruption. It’s okay to open the window at night and you can see Mauna Loa erupting from all over the island, she says.
