Hawaii’s Mauna Loa spewing ash and lava

Officials said Monday that Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, was not a current threat to communities on Hawaii’s Big Island, but they added that residents should be prepared for that to change. Mauna Loa began erupting late Sunday night after a collection of fairly large earthquakes rattled the volcano. It last erupted in 1984. The National Weather Service in Honolulu said less than a quarter inch of falling ash could accumulate on some parts of the island. Ken Hon, the scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said officials and scientists will focus on reporting what the volcano does in real time, rather than speculating on what it could do.

But still, what’s going to happen next? The U.S. Geological Survey said Mauna Loa’s eruption had moved to a rift zone, where the mountain rock is cracked and relatively weak. That could make it easier for magma to emerge, and an eruption there could send lava toward the nearby city of Hilo, whose population is about 45,000. Lava spewing from that crack could take weeks or months to reach populated areas.

Dig deeper: Read Max Belz’s report on the film Fire of Love about two French volcanologists.