The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said that the Kilauea Volcano on the island of Hawaii began erupting late Wednesday. Footage of the volcano’s crater showed lava fountains covering its floor and clouds of volcanic gas rising into the air.
“What was once a cooling lava lake is now a new fissure eruption,” USGS Volcanoes said in a tweet.
The volcano sits within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, away from residential and commercial areas. Scientists said that fortunately the eruption was contained within the national park and would not pose a threat to residents nearby.
“We’re not seeing any indications that lava is moving into the lower part of the east rift zone where people live. Currently, all the activity is within the park,” said Ken Hon, USGS scientist in charge of Hawaii Volcano Observatory.
However, park authorities are expecting a huge surge of visitors, which is why they are urging them to adhere to COVID-19 measures. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokesperson Jessica Ferracane said, “This eruption is going to draw many tens of thousands of people to the park, we’re already seeing people come into the park, drive-in after dark tonight.”
“Really need people to remember that we are in the middle of a pandemic and they need to stay safe and to keep us safe, too,” she added.
“If you’re sick, please don’t come. Come visit another day. Enjoy the views from the webcam,” Ferracane stressed. “We really want to not have these current eruption conditions increase the spread of COVID.”
