Hawaii’s second largest volcano began erupting on Wednesday as a live webcam feed showed spectacular lava flows on the crater surface.
“Kilauea volcano is erupting,” the advisory from the US Geological Survey said. The eruption began at 4.44am HST (3.44pm BST), it said.
Officials stressed that the Kilauea volcano eruption is confined to one crater and did not pose any immediate threat to the public.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory raised the volcano alert level for Kilauea from “watch/orange” to “red/warning.”
“The opening phases of eruptions are dynamic,” the USGS said in the advisory. It said the “hazards will be reassessed as the eruption progresses”.
The explosion at the volcano’s Halemaumau crater created a spectacular glow that could be watched by viewers around the world thanks to a USGS live stream on YouTube.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 homes.
The volcano last erupted in January 2023 with the activity lasting 61 days.
