Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years

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(RockedBuzz via Reuters) – Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting on Sunday for the first time since 1984, ending its longest silent period in history.

The night sky above the largest island of Hawaii glowed a hellish red as hot, glowing lava spewed from the volcano’s summit around 11:30pm local time on Sunday (09:30am GMT Monday).

The lava is contained within the summit and does not threaten Hawaiians living downstream for now, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The service warned residents on Monday that volcanic gases and fine ash could drift.

Mauna Loa rises 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above the Pacific Ocean, part of the chain of volcanoes that formed the Hawaiian Islands. The last eruption occurred in March and April of 1984, sending a flow of lava within 5 miles (8.05 km) of Hilo, the largest city on the island.

Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency said it had opened two shelters on the island as a precaution, but also stressed there were no signs the lava could threaten populated areas and it has not issued any evacuation orders.

About half of all Mauna Loa’s recorded eruptions have been confined to the summit, the agency said.

(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bangalore; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra and Lisa Shumaker)

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