Big Island residents are being warned by Hawaiian authorities that Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, is giving signals that it may explode.
Scientists are on high alert due to a recent increase in earthquakes at the volcano’s top, even though an eruption is not imminent. Experts estimate that the lava, which last erupted in 1984, would take only a few hours to reach the nearest dwellings.
“Mauna Loa comprises 51% of the landmass of the Hawaiian Islands. Accordingly, an eruption might have an effect anywhere within that 51%, according to Talmadge Magno, the Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator. Not to scare anyone, but they need to know that you reside on Mauna Loa’s slopes. There could be a lava disaster of some sort.
Kilauea volcano, which erupted in a community and destroyed 700 homes in 2018, has a far larger neighbor, Mauna Loa, which rises 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above sea level.
Its slopes are substantially steeper than those of Kilauea, allowing its lava to flow downhill much more quickly during eruptions. The Honokua lava flow from the mountain reached the ocean in less than three hours during an eruption in 1950, traveling 15 miles (24 kilometers).
Mauna Loa has been experiencing “heightened unrest,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, a division of the U.S. Geological Survey, since the middle of last month, when the frequency of summit earthquakes increased from 10 to 20 per day to 40 to 50 per day.
