Mauna Loa: World’s largest Volcano Erupts Triggering Ash Fall And Multiple Earthquakes

The largest active volcano in the world, Mauna Loa, in Hawaii, has erupted for the first time in 38 years, causing an ash fall warning and numerous earthquakes on the main island of Hawaii.

On November 27, 2022, late on a Sunday night, the eruption started at the top caldera of Mauna Loa. Although an ash fall warning has been issued, the US Geological Survey currently believes that there is no risk of magma falling.

Even though there are no official evacuation orders in place yet, some residents of the South Kona coast have started to leave on their own.

Historically, the volcano’s lava rivers have flowed into different communities including Hilo, which has 45,248 residents, and Kukio – a billionaire’s paradise which has blossomed over the last 38 years and now counts some of the world’s richest people among residents.

According to prior occurrences, “the location and advance of lava flows can alter rapidly during the early phases of a Mauna Loa eruption.”

Inmates at the 200-bed minimal security Kulani Correctional Facility, which is located at the base of the volcano, were evacuated during the latest eruption.

The prison was only two miles from the lava rivers.

On Monday morning, a prison guard told DailyMail.com that no evacuation order had yet been given and that they couldn’t even see the lava from their side of the volcano.

‘We’re staying put for now,’ the guard said.

He confirmed there are currently 93 inmates at the facility.

The flow of the lava remains unpredictable.

‘If the eruption remains in Moku‘āweoweo, lava flows will most likely be confined within the caldera walls.

‘However, if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope,’ The National Weather Service in Honolulu said in a warning this morning.

Residents who have respiratory illnesses are advised by the NWS to remain indoors.

“Anyone outside should cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth to prevent breathing in the ash particles, and people with respiratory diseases should stay indoors to avoid doing so.

Potential damage to plants and animals. Infrastructure and equipment only slightly damaged. diminished visibility Widespread cleanup might be required.

In the middle of the night, residents awoke to an intensely orange sky. Many people posted pictures and videos of the magma burning on Twitter, with some being able to see it as far away as Kona, which is on the coast.

The USGS reports that more than a dozen earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 2.5 have occurred in the area in the last two hours, one of which had a magnitude of 4.2.

At 13,679 feet above the Pacific Ocean, it is not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.

It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.

Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.

When Mauna Loa erupts, its lava can flow significantly more quickly because to some of its slopes being far steeper than those of Kilauea. The lava from the mountain reached the ocean 15 miles away in less than three hours after an eruption in 1950.

The last time Mauna Loa erupted was in April 1984, when a lava flow came within 5 miles of Hilo. It has erupted 33 times in recorded history beginning in 1843.

Cattle ranches, coffee farms, and beach resorts can be found on the Big Island, which is primarily rural.

The state capital Honolulu and beach resort Waikiki are both situated about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Hawaii’s most populous island, Oahu.