Mauna Loa eruption - latest: Satellite captures view of advancing lava from space as crowds flock to volcano

Prayer. Bombs. Walls. Over the decades, people have tried all of them to stanch the flow of lava from Hawaii‘s volcanoes as it lumbered toward roads, homes and infrastructure.

Now Mauna Loa — the world’s largest active volcano — is erupting again, and lava is slowly approaching a major thoroughfare connecting the Big Island’s east and west sides. And once more, people are asking if anything can be done to stop or divert the flow.

“It comes up every time there’s an eruption and there’s lava heading towards habited areas or highways. Some people say ‘Build a wall’ or ‘Board up’ and other people say, ‘No don’t!,’” said Scott Rowland, a geologist at the University of Hawaii.

Humans have rarely had much success stopping lava and, despite the world’s technological advances, doing so is still difficult and dependent on the force of the flow and the terrain. But many in Hawaii also question the wisdom of interfering with nature and Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and fire.

Attempts to divert lava have a long history in Hawaii.

Read more on The Independent here.

The first eruption in 38 years of Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, is drawing visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is open 24 hours a day.

“The viewing has been spectacular,” especially at night and before sunrise, park spokesperson Jessica Ferracane said.

Visitors to the park are currently able to witness two eruptive events: the glow from Kilauea’s lava lake and lava from a Mauna Loa fissure.

“This is a rare time where we have two eruptions happening simultaneously,” Ferracane said.

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. The current eruption is its 34th since written history began in 1843. Its smaller neighbor, Kilauea, has been erupting since September 2021.

Read more about the duelling eruptions with The Independent.

Stunning aerial footage has captured the scarily-beautiful sight of lava being fired high into the air as Mauna Loa rages in Hawaii.

Paradise Helicopters shot this video while flying overhead the dramatic scene on Tuesday (29 November), showing the roaring red eruption.

It is the first time the world’s largest active volcano has blown in 38 years.

Lava was fewer than five miles away from the island’s main highway on Wednesday morning.

Hawaii’s County Civil Defense Agency, however, said communities were not under threat as things stand.

Watch the full clip here.

The eruption of Hawaii‘s Mauna Loa volcano has temporarily knocked off power to the world’s premier station that measures heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but officials Wednesday say it won’t be a problem.

There are hundreds of other carbon dioxide monitoring sites across the globe. The federal government is looking for a temporary alternate site on the Hawaiian island and is contemplating flying a generator to the Mauna Loa observatory to get its power back so it can take measurements again, said officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Lab in Colorado that operates the station.

The Hawaiian station goes back to 1958 and is the main site for the famous Keeling Curve that shows rising carbon dioxide levels from burning of coal, oil and natural gas that tracks with rising temperatures. Levels of carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa have increased 33 per cent since 1958.

The Independent has more here about Mauna Loa’s carbon monitoring station.

Tourists have flocked to Hawaii to witness the world’s largest active volcano erupting, with fountains of lava being spewed out reaching over 100 feet high.

This is the first eruption of Mauna Loa in 38 years, with eruptive activity at the site last seen in 1984. Smaller nearby volcano, Kilauea, has been erupting since 2021, so both can be viewed from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The park is open 24 hours a day and, as reported by Stuff, tourists have seen the best views at night and before sunrise.

Spokesperson for the National Park, Jessica Ferracane, said: “The viewing has been spectacular,” before adding that, “this is a rare time where we have two eruptions happening simultaneously.”

Helen Wilson-Beevers has more details here.

Talmadge Magno, of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that officials on the island have already begun discussing whether a diversion of the lava flowing from Mauna Loa could be implemented, but nothing has been set in stone.

“Past examples did not work and we are going to be getting info from USGS as far as scenarios where there was success around diversion around the globe,” Magno said, according to Hawaii News Now.

Such efforts that the civil defence official was perhaps pointing back to include a diversion that was attempted back in 1935 when the Big Island volcano was erupting, and a lava flow was threatening to spill into a vital water resource for residents.

At that time, Thomas Jaggar, the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, called on the military to take action against the volcano as it threatened to spoil the Wailuku River, which supplied water for Hilo residents.

A bombing of the volcano was ordered by Gen George Patton and though the flow did wane over the course of the next few days, its overall direction was not changed in a significant manner, prompting scientists to theorise that the bombing hadn’t been what actually stopped it.

As a stream of molten lava continues inching towards a main highway on Hawaii’s Big Island, threatening to shut down the thoroughfare and reroute traffic between two main communities, officials in the state are saying they’re urging residents to be prepared for delays.

Hawaii Governor David Ige said Wednesday that he plans to activate the Hawaii National Guard to help set up critical infrastructure and “support planning for alternative routes and help with making available bypass routes if that becomes necessary.”

Ed Sniffen, the deputy director of highways for the state department of transportation, confirmed that the state’s agencies are preparing for a probably necessary shut down when and if the lava reaches the highway, known more commonly as Saddle Road.

“All the equipment necessary to shut down the road where it was necessary, to put a message board, so we can alert everyone in advance of the shutdowns, and that we can clear the Hamakua coast of any lane restrictions that we have on that area,” said Mr Sniffen.

Though officials in Hawaii have yet to chance the risk posed to communities because of Mauna Loa’s eruption, medical officials on the Big Island are sounding the alarm over another possible threat: vog-related illnesses.

“Those who are have respiratory illnesses and distress, this is the time to prepare and work with your primary care provider to make sure your medication supplies are filled and refilled,” said Elena Cabatu, Director of Public Affairs for Hilo Medical Center, in an interview with Hawaii News Now.

Hawaii Department of Health warned earlier in the week about the risks of air quality hazards such as vog conditions, ash in the air, and rising levels of sulfur dioxide.

And though hospitals in the area haven’t experienced any influx in patients experiencing these symptoms, they caution that there is a possibility that could come later.

A Vog Measurement and Prediction Program at the University of Hawaii shows there are currently traces of the hazardous sulfur dioxide hanging in the air around Mauna Loa.

“Very much a familiar smell in terms of eruption,” Cabatu said. “It’s an early warning signal for us to take precaution.”

The US Geological Survey warned during a Wednesday evening press conference that there was a “high probability” that the lava crawling from the erupting Mauna Loa volcano could reach a main highway on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Officials are preparing for the possibility that the Daniel K Inouye Highway, which connects the communities of Hilo and Kona on the island, could be shut down within days as the molten lava continues to flow across the terrain.

“It’ll probably come around the north side of Pu’u Huluhulu, which is right at the Mauna Kea turnoff on Saddle Road,” said Ken Hon, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge, at a news conference Wednesday, according to Hawaii News Now.

The lava flow was previously moving at a rate of 130 meters an hour, which if maintained, means it could reach the main thoroughfare by Friday, the USGS said.

But as of 7pm local time on Wednesday, Mr Hon had confirmed that it had slowed to just 24 metres per hour, as the lava had hit a flat terrain.

“The terrain is what is slowing it down. There’s no doubt about it also getting more distant from vent... we’re seeing more crystal... they get hard and like block start providing resistance,” he explained.

Officials within the state were preparing for the seemingly inevitable shutdown of the highway as they mapped out routes for diverting traffic, if needed.

Hawaii Governor David Ige had previously said that, should this shutdown come, he plans to activate the Hawaii National Guard to help set up critical infrastructure and “support planning for alternative routes and help with making available bypass routes if that becomes necessary.”