LAVA LIGHTS UP HAWAII’S KILAUEA VOLCANO

KILAUEA: Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano – one of the world’s most active – has erupted but its lava so far is limited to its central crater and not threatening inhabited areas, authorities said on Thursday.

Lava fountains began appearing on Wednesday at the surface of the crater’s lava lake and have reached the “height of a five-story building,” the United States Geological Survey posted on Twitter.

Cracks first appeared in the Halema’uma’u crater earlier on Wednesday and very quickly gave way to the lava fountains, which at times exceed a temperature of 1100 degrees celsius, the USGS said.

The eruptions that have regularly rocked Kilauea since the 1950s have made it a popular destination for tourists.

Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where Kilauea is located, have begun mobilising staff to cope with an expected influx of visitors.

“We do expect visitation to increase as the word gets out and spread through the weekend,” Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane told the Honolulu Star.

Kilauea does not present any immediate danger but the USGS said it “continues to monitor the volcano closely” because the beginning of eruption phases “are dynamic and uncertain.”

Kilauea is one of the five volcanoes on the island of Hawaii, the largest in this Pacific archipelago.

In 2018, a Kilauea eruption destroyed several hundred homes.

An image showing the continuing eruption of the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, fountaining at multiple fissure locations on the base and west wall of the crater, and a lava lake growing within Halema'uma'u. Picture: Courtesy of the US Geological Survey (USGS)