Lava from the ongoing eruption at the Mauna Loa volcano is just miles away from a crucial highway on Hawaii's Big Island. If it closes, residents' commutes could grow by hours as they seek alternate routes, creating 'a tremendous inconvenience.'
From a deep fracture in Mauna Loa's dark terrain, the volcano's magnificent eruption sends geyser-like fountains of lava spraying into the sky.
"If the eruption continues, it might cover the highway. But at this stage, it's still about 2.3 miles away from the highway. But it is advancing every day," said Natalia Deligne, a volcanologist with the USGS at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "We don't know how long this eruption is going to last, and that will dictate whether or not the highway becomes more threatened.
Also erupting now is nearby Kilauea, whose monthslong eruption in 2018 was one of the most destructive in recent Hawaii history, the USGS says. Dorothy Thrall can still walk to the spot where her community once stood, now blanketed with hardened lava. From the deck of her friend's home, she can see the edge where the lava stopped and blackened into volcanic rock, still steaming years afterward."I thought I was doing pretty good," Thrall said. "My neighbor called me Day 2 , and she was in tears. She says, 'I have PTSD, and I didn't even know it.
For many Native Hawaiians, the eruption of volcanoes, including Kilauea and Mauna Loa, holds incredible spiritual significance. Some have honored this week's occasion by leaving offerings and participating in traditional chants near Mauna Loa.
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