Mauna Loa erupts after 38 years of calm
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby
At 11.30 pm on Sunday
An eruption began in the summit caldera of Mauna Loa — 3.00pm on Monday IST — on the Big Island, the US Geological Survey said. Later it said lava flows were contained within the summit area and weren't threatening nearby communities
Alert level raised
The volcano alert level was upgraded from an "advisory" to "warning". The USGS said that based on past events, early stages of Mauna Loa eruption can be very dynamic, and location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly
Ashfall advisory
Portions of the Big Island are under an ashfall advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu, which said up to a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of ash could accumulate
The site of eruption
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago. Mauna Loa is 4,169 meters above sea level
33 eruptions p since 1843
The last eruption in 1984 lasted 22 days and produced lava flows which reached to within about 7km of Hilo, home to about 44,000 people today
Spike in earthquake
Scientists were on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984