With Mauna Loa on the Big Island erupting again for the first time since 1984, she has been long overdue. Volcanoes are interesting. Officially, there are 161 volcanoes that are considered “potentially active” in the U.S. 48 are in continuing eruption status. That means eruptions could be daily or weekly, but “continuing eruption status” means the volcano erupts at least every 3 months. So, as the world’s largest and most active volcano, she has been on “vacation” for a very long time.
Looking across Kilauea volcanic crater at Mauna Loa
Big Island residents have been alerted to be ready for evacuation. If Mauna Loa decides to blast out sideways, lava flows can be dramatic, fast-moving, and difficult to predict.
While there, we knew steam vents were very active. I had started “checking” active volcano status while we were on the island, as the status was Yellow, for “Advisory,” and had changed to Orange for “Watch.” These are much like the Hurricane warning levels. Naturally, the status for Mauna Loa is now Red for “Warning.”
Anyone can check all volcanoes in the U.S. online at https://www.usgs.gov/programs/VHP
We felt none of the earthquakes that had been going on for the last few weeks, and that is just fine with me. From Kona, the lava flows are very visible after dark. We just hope everyone on Hawai’i’s Big Island stays safe.
