The largest active volcano in the world, Mauna Loa, located in Hawaii, erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, throwing ash around Monday morning without so far threatening homes.
The eruption began Sunday evening at 11:30 p.m. local time (4:30 a.m. Monday in Quebec), announced in a warning message the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS).
“The lava is still erupting at the top and overflowing the caldera,” he said on Monday, adding that it “currently poses no threat to inhabited areas.”
No evacuations have been ordered by the authorities, but some roads are closed as a precaution.
“There is no indication of any progress of the eruption into a rift zone,” which allows magma to travel more easily underground, the USGS had said earlier.
But “the first phases of a Mauna Loa eruption can evolve quickly and the location and progress of lava flows can change quickly,” the Institute had warned in its first note on Sunday.
The winds could also carry “volcanic gas and Pele’s hair”, volcanic glass fibers, said the USGS.
The US Weather Services (NWS) warned that volcanic ash and debris could accumulate around the volcano.
This can cause breathing difficulties in the inhabitants or disrupt the operation of engines or electronic systems.
Mauna Loa, which rises to 4169 meters, is located on the island of Hawaii, the largest of this Pacific archipelago.
The volcano has erupted 33 times since 1843. Its last was in 1984, and lasted 22 days.
“The fact that this is a dangerous mountain that hasn’t erupted since 1984 — the longest eruptive pause in its history — is why we should all be watching what’s going on,” he said. commented on Twitter volcanologist Robin George Andrews.