The Mauna Loa volcano is showing signs it could erupt and Hawaii officials have told people to prepare to leave quickly.
Scientists say another eruption is unlikely, but are watching closely due to earthquakes at the top of the volcano.
They occur due to increased magma flowing beneath the earth’s surface. Although earthquakes have become less frequent in recent days, it is possible that they will return.
Hawaii’s Civil Defense Agency tells people how to prepare for the worst. They were told to pack a “take-out” bag with food, decide on a safe place to go and have a plan to find friends and family.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said, “Don’t panic everyone, but they need to know that you live on the slopes of Mauna Loa. There is potential for some kind of disaster. of lava”.
The volcano makes up 51% of the island’s landmass, so an eruption would have a catastrophic impact on much of the island, Magno said.
Mauna Loa rises 4,169m above sea level and towers over its neighboring volcano, Kilauea, which erupted in 2018 and destroyed 700 homes.
Mauna Loa is steeper so lava will flow much faster.
Since 1980, Hawaii’s population has more than doubled, from 92,000 to 200,000.
Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843 and when it erupted in 1950 the lava traveled 15 miles in three hours.
Authorities are telling new residents, who weren’t there when Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago, to prepare.
In Ocean View, 220 people attended a community meeting last weekend led by civil defense officials.
However, some residents are not as worried, Bob Werner, who did not attend the meeting, said “the biggest concern is that it will be extremely annoying to drive an extra hour or two to get the same things,” he said.
Bar owner Ryan Williams said patrons were used to the warnings and weren’t worried about the possibility of a blowout.
Magno said the agency was targeting people living near the volcano’s vents because they would have the least time to react if the threat level was high to “watch,” meaning an eruption is imminent.
The current alert level is “advisory”.
