One of the most active volcanoes on Earth, Hawaii’s Kilauea, has begun erupting, the US Geological Survey has confirmed according to AR.
Webcam footage of the volcano’s Halemaumau crater showed lava fountains covering the floor of the crater and billowing clouds of volcanic gas were rising into the air. The same area has been home to a large lava lake at various times throughout the volcano’s eruptive past.
The eruption is not in an area with homes and is entirely contained within Hawaii Volcanoes national park.
The volcano’s alert level has been raised to “warning” and the aviation code changed to red.
Earlier, on Wednesday, officials reported increased earthquake activity and ground swelling.
It's worth noting that in 2018, Kilauea had a major eruption that destroyed more than 700 homes and displaced thousands of residents. Before that eruption, the volcano had been slowly erupting for decades, but mostly not in densely populated residential areas. Before the major 2018 eruption, Kilauea had been erupting since 1983.