On Thursday, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano spewed out lava from its Puu Oo cone that started late in the night and continued on through the morning, though posed no grave danger to the community of Big Island.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, it’s much too early to tell what is the full extent of the breakout and how far it can spread, but they are keeping a close eye to make sure it will not threaten locals. Kilauea is among the most active volcanoes in the world, eruption at near constant in the last 32 years.
Locals of the Big Island have now accepted and embraced the presence of lava flow, which has famously become an attraction for tourists, along with the lava lake. However, the latter has recently overflowed its banks and it stands to question if the situation is about to become graver than expected.
The U.S. Geological Survey is continuingly monitoring the situation in order to ensure that no one will be harmed. So far, they have observed the recent eruption has resulted in a lava flow that slowly travelled approximately 0.5 miles in less than 24 hours. It’s headed for the eastern part of the island, at Eden Roc, where nearly 450 people reside.
The outbreak could have been announced by an earthquake of 3.8 magnitude that shook beneath the highly active volcano on Thursday, and officials from the U.S. Geological Survey have reported that “low levels of seismic activities continue”. They’re keeping a close eye on the flow of molten rock that has possibly reached the forests.
It could result in much graver issues if the situation is not closely monitored, and could see unfortunate consequences of an unstoppable event of nature. For natives of the Big Island though, it’s almost a daily occurrence and not as threatening as most might believe, even though destructive incidents have been known to happen.
For example, the last year, a small community in Pahoa has seen one notable encounter with lava flow that has slithered down to the rural town until burned one house. However, experts are reassuring that no such thing will happen in lieu of Kilauea’s eruption.
Hawaiian Volcano scientist, Christina Neal, has in fact claimed that the event was a mere harmless “burp of lava”, that will stand as no threat to the community of Big Island. That does not mean that they would leave it out of their sight for one moment.
Image source: avaxnews.net
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