Lava flows from the big crater's third crack reached speeds of up to 40 meters per hour before slowing down. At the present, no property is threatened by the phenomena.
 |
| Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii/USGS webcam |
Lava from Hawaii's Mauna Loa, the world's biggest active volcano, which erupted this week, is reaching the Big Island's major route.
A video from the US Geological Survey's Hawaii Volcano Observatory (USGS) showed lava gushing out of the volcano on Sunday night during an eruption.
The officials noted in their most recent report that the lava is 5.2 kilometers from the vital Daniel K. Inouye highway (Saddle Route) and that, based on what has been witnessed in the previous few hours, the lava river should reach this arterial road within a week.
"However, numerous factors are at work, and both the direction and time of flow progress are flexible and are likely to fluctuate over hours to days."
The third fissure, according to the Service, is the source of the greatest lava flows, while the first two feed the rivers down the hill. The fourth fracture sends rivers of this flaming stuff to the northeast.
According to the USGS, no property is currently threatened by the phenomena.
"Our seismic monitoring finds tremors (high earthquake rates) near currently active cracks." The USGS stated, "This suggests that magma is still being supplied, and activity is expected to continue as long as we detect this signal."
Authorities warn that the winds may blow volcanic gas, fine ash, and strands of Pele's hair downward.
These threads, which may be two meters long, develop as skeins of lava cool quickly in the air.
They were called after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. They can be highly sharp and can cause harm to the eyes and skin.
Mauna Loa ("Big Mountain") is the world's biggest volcano by surface area, covering half of the Big Island and dwarfing the rest of the Hawaiian Islands combined.
According to the USGS, the volcano's undersea sides continue for several kilometers to an ocean bottom that is depressed by the vast bulk of Mauna Loa, causing its peak to be roughly 17 kilometers above its base.
Mauna Loa, one of the six active volcanoes in the Hawaiian archipelago, has erupted 33 times since 1843, according to the USGS.
The most recent eruption, in 1984, lasted 22 days and spewed lava flows as far as four miles from Hilo, a city of around 44,000 inhabitants.