Kīlauea volcano erupts in area that hasn't seen lava since 1974
Story at a glance
- The Kīlauea volcano began erupting around 12:30 a.m. HST Monday.
- Lava is erupting from fissures located about a mile south of Kīlauea's caldera within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
- The last eruption that occurred from this location took place in December of 1974.
KILAUEA (KHON) - Hawaii's most active volcano is erupting once again.
The Kīlauea volcano began erupting around 12:30 a.m. HST Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
The observatory said that lava is erupting from fissures located about a mile south of Kīlauea's caldera within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The last eruption that occurred from this location took place in December of 1974.
"The December 1974 eruption lasted about 6 hours but was far more voluminous and covered a much larger area. At this time, it is not possible to say how long the current eruption will last," the USGS explained on its website.
Concerns were raised Sunday after scientists said there had been an increase in earthquakes. In the hours leading up to the eruption, the observatory recorded approximately 250 quakes beneath the Kilauea summit, The Associated Press reported.
The observatory said it's raising the ground-hazard volcano alert from a watch to a warning, and the aviation color from orange to red.