Hawaii volcano: Kilauea erupts on state’s Big Island
US Geological Survey says ‘the situation is rapidly evolving’, as warnings are issued and earthquake recorded
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kilauea volcano has erupted on Hawaii’s Big Island, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The eruption began late on Sunday within the Halema'uma'u crater, shortly after 9.30pm local time.
Observers at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) noticed the eruption started within the crater at Kīlauea’s summit, according to the USGS, who was in contact with the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake was reported in the area shortly after the eruption began, according to the USGS.
In an update, the USGS said “An eruption has commenced within Kīlauea’s summit caldera. The situation is rapidly evolving and HVO will issue another statement when more information is available.”
An advisory was issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu, warning of fallen ash from the volcano.
Excessive exposure to ash is an eye and respiratory irritant, it said.
The HVO has raised Kīlauea’s volcano alert level to "WARNING" level, and the aviation alert level is now colour code “RED”, the highest warnings available.
The volcano last erupted in 2018, and according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), had shown signs of underground activity in the past weeks and months, with rising uplift at the summit.
Seismic activity had also increased in recent months, according to Kilauea’s observers.
“On December 17, 2020, seismometers detected a notable increase in occurrence and duration of long-period seismic signals beneath Kīlauea’s summit, which are attributed to magmatic activity," the USGS said.
"Whereas this type of seismicity was observed on average once every few weeks following the 2018 eruption, rates have increased to over a dozen in the past several days.”
On Sunday night, the HVO recorded a magnitude 4.4 earthquake on Kīlauea south side at approximately 10:36pm local time, around an hour after the eruption began.
The earthquake was centred about 14 km (8.7 miles) south of Fern Forest, near the Hōlei Pali area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and at a depth of 6 km (4 miles), according to the USGS.
No significant damage to buildings is expected following the earthquake, while a number of smaller earthquakes, or aftershocks, are possible.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments