Earthquake shakes Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano

Dust from the summit of Mauna Loa volcano due to a recent snowstorm in Hawaii. Photo: Weatherboy

34 earthquakes jolted Hawaii Big Island today, home to Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano. A 3.2-magnitude earthquake struck Bahala, south of Mauna Loa summit, this evening at 8:08 PM local time, 2:08 AM ET. Mauna Loa does not erupt at this time, but the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is urging people to prepare for the possibility of an eruption at some point in the future. None of today’s earthquakes were strong enough to generate any tsunamis.

Not many earthquakes on the island of Hawaii were noticeable today, although the most recent earthquake was reported by at least 14 people to the US Geological Survey within 10 minutes of striking. The 3.0 earthquake that struck near the same site during the afternoon also attracted the attention and introductions of the US Geological Survey to “Did you feel it?” Database.

Other earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 around the Big Island of Hawaii include a 2.8-magnitude earthquake that struck west of Kailua Kona at dinner time, local time, and 2.5 epicenter north of Honuka on the northern coast of Hawaii.

In a recent press release, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) scientists warned, “While an eruption of Mauna Loa volcano is not imminent, it is now time to reconsider personal explosive plans. Similar to preparing for hurricane season, having a plan is in place. A volcanic eruption in advance helps in case of emergency. “

Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on Earth, rising to 13,681 feet above sea level. Mauna Loa rises from the ocean floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean at a depth of about 3 miles. Due to the large mass of the volcano, the ocean floor below Mauna Loa sinks another 5 miles. According to the USGS, this places the Mauna Loa summit 56,000 feet above its base; The enormous volcano covers half of the island of Hawaii, also known as the “Big Island of Hawaii”.

Mauna Loa eruptions tend to produce massive and fast-moving lava flows that can affect communities on the eastern and western sides of the Big Island from Kona to Hilo. Since the 1850s, Hilo in eastern Hawaii has been threatened by 7 lava flows of Mauna Loa. On the south and west sides of the island, lava flows of Mauna Loa reached the coast there 8 times: in 1859, 1868, 1887, 1926 and 1919 and three times in 1950.

This map shows the response time people can expect based on the Mauna Loa eruptions over the past 200 years. The different sectors around Mauna Loa were colored according to how quickly the lava reached populated areas. The warmer the color, the faster the streams will travel. Lava flows in Mauna Loa over the past 200 years are shown in gray, and numbers along the shoreline indicate times of lava transport into the ocean after the vents have opened. Large, bold numbers record average effusion rates for different parts of the volcano in millions of cubic meters per day (Mm3 / d). Photo: USGS

According to the USGS, while Mauna Loa is not currently erupting, deformation and earthquake rates remain high above long-term background levels. GPS measurements continue to show a slow and prolonged swell at the summit consistent with the magma supply of the volcano’s shallow storage system. The slight increase in inflation that began in January continues.

Last week, Mauna Loa struck more than 225 earthquakes. However, most of them had a strength of 2.5 or less and most of them were below the top. The strongest earthquake in the past seven days has occurred in Pahala, registering a magnitude 4.2 event on Wednesday afternoon. There have been more than 660 earthquakes on the island of Hawaii in the last 30 days and more than 6,800 in the last 365 days.

The US Geological Survey suggests that people in Hawaii have a “travel bag” equipped with essential items now before the next eruption of Mauna Loa volcano. Photo: HIEMA

With another eruption on Mauna Loa inevitable, although the timing has not yet been set, the US Geological Survey is urging people in Hawaii to have a personalized response plan, prepare a “go bag”, and define what one would do if an eruption occurred at times Different from the day or the week.

“The most important thing you can do is have a personal response plan,” USGS says. Document what you will do when a volcano erupts and make sure your family and friends know what this plan is.

The USGS proposes a ‘travel suitcase’, in order. “Nowadays, people are packing” go “bags containing essentials in case you have to leave your home on an eviction order. You may want to include important documents, such as birth certificate, bonds, legal papers, and medicines.”

The location of volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii. Photo: USGS

The US Geological Survey says that people in Hawaii should develop plans that take into account different types of days and time of day: If family members are at work or school at specific times, the plan should address what people should do and how they should communicate in If the eruption occurs, people are not at home. “It helps to also have a communication plan,” USGS says, “so you can reach out to those you care about.”

Mauna Loa is one of 5 volcanoes that make up the Big Island of Hawaii. The oldest volcano on the island of Hawaii is Kohala, which is over a million years old. Kilauea is the youngest, with an estimated age of about 300,000-600,000 years. Mauna Loa is the second smallest volcano on the island, with an estimated age of around 700,000 years.

A series of cracks released lava near the summit of Mauna Loa in 1984. A person stands at the bottom left of the photo. Photo: Griggs, JD / Public Domain / USGS

Mauna Loa is a shield volcano with long, wide slopes that drop into the ocean. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very liquid and usually non-explosive. The magma for Mauna Loa and Kilauea, the last to have erupted since December, is sourced from a hot spot in the middle of the Pacific Plate. Because the plate is slowly eroding, Mauna Loa will eventually move away from the hotspot, and become an extinct volcano in the next 500,000-1,000,000 years.

Map showing areas covered by lava in the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano. Photo: USGS

The most recent eruption of Mauna Loa volcano occurred from 24 March to 15 April 1984. The lava flow from 1984 extended near the summit while additional fissures pushed the flows in the general direction of Hilo. The flows stopped approximately 4 miles outside Hilo city limits. No lava has flowed from Mauna Loa since then.

While scientists are certain that the Mauna Loa will erupt, they are not entirely sure when or where the lava will flow from the next eruption. Previous flows affected the Puako and Waikoloa Beach communities on the northwest coast, Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook on the west coast, Milolii and Ocean View on the southwest coast, and Hilo on the east coast. Because of the wide range of impacts in previous eruption events, the US Geological Survey encourages people at the island level to prepare for the possibility of volcanic activity. In addition to the hazards of fast-moving lava flows, there can be toxic volcanic gases and volcanic fog known as vog, as well as the fall of volcanic debris such as ash or volcanic glass.

Hawaii also has no monopoly on volcanic threats in the United States. While the USGS ranked Kilauea as the largest volcanic threat in the United States in its updated 2018 list of volcanic hazards, Mauna Loa is only 16 on the list. Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainer in Washington, the heartland of Alaska, Mount Shasta in California, and Mount Hood and Three Sisters in Oregon are considered more dangerous.

Threat classification for American volcanoes: These are the volcanoes with a “very high threat” level within the United States Photo: USGS

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