The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, has erupted on the US island of Hawaii, international media reported. Authorities are warning nearby residents of falling debris and volcanic ash.
The eruption began on Sunday evening (local time). On Monday morning, the USGS reported that pyroclastic flows had been detected at the top of the volcano. At the moment, the neighboring villages are not yet threatened.
However, the organization warned residents around the volcano to prepare for the eruption. The service notes that the initial phase of an eruption is often unpredictable and that pyroclastic flows can quickly change direction.
Scientists have been monitoring Mauna Loa for some time because of recent tremors around the volcano’s summit. The last eruption of the volcano was in 1984.
Mauna Loa rises 4,000 meters above sea level and is the largest active volcano in the world. The nearby volcano Kilauea is much smaller, but it did a lot of damage on the island during an eruption in 2018. Then that eruption destroyed at least seven hundred nearby homes.
Some of the slopes of Mauna Loa are steeper than those of Kilauea, so lava can flow downhill faster. During a volcanic eruption in 1950, lava flowed 15 miles into the ocean in three hours.
