The Kīlauea volcano on the Island of Hawai’i has erupted 14 times since December, as confirmed by geologists. The recent eruption lasted 29 hours from Wednesday at 9:26 a.m. Hawaiian time through Thursday at 1:49 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. During the final eight hours, fountains of lava shot up to 600 feet high mainly through the south vent within the closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Videos shared on social media captured the dramatic lava flow.
Although the eruption did not pose a direct threat to nearby communities, the U.S. Geological Survey cautioned that volcanic gas and volcanic glass strands, known as Pele’s hair, could impact residents and visitors in the vicinity. Safety concerns for those near the eruption include elevated levels of volcanic gas, primarily consisting of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.
The volcano has experienced more than a dozen eruptions since December 23, with each event lasting between 13 hours to 8 days, as confirmed by the USGS. Intermittent breaks in volcanic activity have varied from hours to up to 12 days. The longest eruption occurred over a week from December 26 to January 3, according to the USGS records.
The eruption timeline of Kīlauea is as follows:
– Dec. 23 (14 hours)
– Dec. 24 – Dec. 25 (15 hours)
– Dec. 26 – Jan. 3 (8.5 days)
– Jan. 15 – Jan. 18 (3 days)
– Jan 22 – Jan. 23 (14 hours)
– Jan 24 – Jan. 25 (13 hours)
– Jan. 27 – Jan. 28 (16 hours)
– Feb. 3 – Feb. 4 (21 hours)
– Feb. 11 – Feb. 12 (22 hours)
– Feb. 19 – Feb. 20 (13 hours)
– March 4 – March 5 (27 hours)
– March 11 (13 hours)
– March 19 – March 20 (29 hours)
Kīlauea is renowned as the most active volcano globally, situated in the southeastern part of the Island of Hawai’i in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It forms part of the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, which also includes Mauna Loa, another widely recognized and frequently visited volcano.
Source: USA TODAY, Jeanine Santucci
