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Maunaloa remains steady, geologists encourage vigilance

Aerial photograph of the dominant fissure three erupting on the Northeast Rift Zone of Maunaloa, taken at approximately 8 a.m. HST Nov. 29, 2022. Fissure three fountains were up to 25 meters this morning and the vent was feeding the main lava flow to the northeast.
M. Patrick
/
USGS
Aerial photograph of the dominant fissure three erupting on the Northeast Rift Zone of Maunaloa, taken at approximately 8 a.m. HST Nov. 29, 2022. Fissure three fountains were up to 25 meters this morning and the vent was feeding the main lava flow to the northeast.

Lava is shooting up to 200-feet in the air as the Maunaloa eruption continues on Hawaiʻi Island.

Currently, no homes or communities are threatened by the lava flows, but the U.S. Geological Survey says the current lava flow is about 6-miles away from Saddle Road, a highway that stretches from Maunaloa to Maunakea.

The eruption started Sunday night in the Mokuʻāweoweo caldera on the summit of the world’s largest active volcano. At last check, only the lowest fissure on the Northeast slope is currently active.

The Conversation’s Russell Subiono talked with USGS geologist Katie Mulliken to get the latest.

Mulliken says there is still a visible gas plume from this eruption that can be seen from around the island.

"Right now, this is a very new eruption so it's very dynamic," she says. "Things are changing and we are very closely monitoring the situation."

She adds that the most important thing for residents of Hawaiʻi Island to do right now is to listen to the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency for any changes and rely on trusted sources to receive updates from.

This interview aired on The Conversation on Nov. 29, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.

Russell Subiono is the executive producer of The Conversation and host of HPR's This Is Our Hawaiʻi podcast. Born in Honolulu and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, he’s spent the last decade working in local film, television and radio. Contact him at talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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