HONOLULU — Officials are encouraging residents who live on Hawaii’s Big Island to be prepared in case of an eruption of Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano.
Scientists noted an elevated state of background seismicity in September, which has prompted Hawaii officials to ensure that residents are prepared to evacuate if the mountain erupts.
Hawaii officials are warning residents of the Big Island that the world's largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, is sending signals that it may erupt. https://t.co/jsGA9trlcb
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 27, 2022
The United States Geological Survey said in an advisory on Thursday that while the volcano is not currently erupting, there has been an increase in earthquake activity, and magma is likely being driven toward the volcano’s 13,679-foot summit.
“Mauna Loa is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time. However, Mauna Loa continues to be in a state of heightened unrest as indicated by increased earthquake activity and inflation of the summit. The current unrest is most likely being driven by renewed input of magma 2–5 miles beneath Mauna Loa’s summit. Monitoring data show no significant changes in the past day,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory daily update for Thursday, Oct. 27.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Mauna Loa has been in a state of heightened unrest since September when summit earthquakes jumped from 10 to 20 per day to 40 to 50 per day. In the last three weeks, the seismicity has risen to 100 events a day, according to The Associated Press.
“Mauna Loa makes up 51% of the Hawaii Island landmass. So anywhere within that 51% could be impacted by an eruption,” Talmadge Magno, the administrator for Hawaii County Civil Defense, told the AP. “Not to panic everybody, but they have to be aware of that you live on the slopes of Mauna Loa. There’s a potential for some kind of lava disaster.”
Because Mauna Loa’s slopes are steeper than other mountains on the Big Island, lava would likely travel at a higher speed, posing a greater risk to those who live nearby.
In 2019, officials raised the alert level for Mauna Loa from “normal” to “advisory” following a steady increase in earthquakes and ground swelling, the AP reported. The next higher alert level is “watch,” which means the volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption. It has remained at that the “advisory” level since then.
Earthquakes at the summit have declined in the last few days, but concerns remain that the volcano might erupt again for the first time since 1984.
For more on the Volcano Alert Levels, visit the USGS here.
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