Honolulu:
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted late Sunday, authorities stated, warning of a achievable “significant emission” of volcanic ash into the atmosphere.
“An eruption has commenced within Kilauea’s summit caldera,” shortly right after 9:30 pm regional time (0730 GMT), stated the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
“The situation is rapidly evolving and HVO (Hawaiian Volcano Observatory) will issue another statement when more information is available.”
Images posted by the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park showed billows of red smoke increasing into the evening sky.
The USGS warned of a “significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere” and upgraded its aviation colour code to red, advising pilots to steer clear of the region about Kilauea.
The National Weather Service reported prevailing winds could push the ashfall towards communities on the southwest of Big Island and stated persons with respiratory difficulties ought to take “extra precaution”.
The USGS reported a shallow, 4.4-magnitude earthquake close to the volcano shortly right after the eruption.
Kilauea, a common tourist attraction, is one particular of the world’s most active volcanoes and has been erupting routinely considering that the 1950s.
In 2014 Big Island declared a state of emergency right after red-hot lava from Kilauea ignited a property and threatened the whole town of Pahoa on the eastern tip of the island.
Hawaii Island, or the Big Island, is the biggest of the eight most important islands which make up the Pacific US state — an archipelago that consists of hundreds of smaller sized volcanic islands.
()