Topline
Kilauea—Hawaii’s second-largest volcano—began erupting Wednesday morning on the Big Island after a three-month pause, resulting in high levels of volcanic gas and increased earthquake activity as flows of lava appeared at the summit, according to U.S. Geological Survey officials.
Key Facts
At approximately 4:44 a.m. on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory saw glow in webcam images of the volcano’s summit, indicating the eruption had begun in the crater area.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes: It erupted from September 2021 to last December, before pausing for a few weeks and erupting again from January to March this year.
The eruption at Kilauea is within a closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, and Hawaii Emergency Management said on Twitter there isn’t any indication that populated areas are threatened, but the National Weather Service in Honolulu warned the eruption “may cause ‘very light ashfall’ in Puna, Kau and South Kona districts” through 6 p.m.
Big Number
700. That’s how many homes were destroyed in Kilauea’s 2018 eruption that lasted from May through August. The summit area also saw tens of thousands of “earthquakes, towering ash plumes, and a massive collapse of Kilauea caldera,” according to the National Park Service.
Further Reading
Kīlauea Volcano Activity Notice — status upgrade to RED/WARNING, eruption at the summit (U.S. Geological Survey)
Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, begins erupting after 3-month pause (AP)
Kilauea volcano erupts in Hawaii, lava confined to crater (Reuters)