Stretching over 10.5 miles of Hawaii’s Big Island, Mauna Loa is currently the largest active volcano in the world. Mauna Loa started erupting on November 27, and it continued pouring out lava into December. This is Mauna Loa’s first eruption since 1984, and due to its lack of historical data, experts anticipate that calculating the trajectory of the lava is going to be much more difficult.

According to Mike Zoeller of the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Mauna Loa has been releasing lava at an estimated rate of 21 yards per hour, and if it progresses any further, it creates a major issue by interrupting the major highway that connects the eastern and western parts of the Big Island. It also has the potential to destroy other infrastructure along the way, which causes the situation to be even more detrimental. Although the lava could bring great danger to any person nearby, it seems highly unlikely for the reason that the closest town center is about 37 miles northeast. The lava flow didn’t cause any damage to the nearest village even back when the volcano erupted in the 1880s.

Mauna Loa isn’t the only volcano that has been erupting in Hawaii; a second volcano known as Kilauea has been consistently exploding for the past year. Only 21 miles away from Mauna Loa, Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes that attract countless tourists and locals. The volcano has erupted before in 2018, and it led to the destruction of hundreds of homes in the Leilani Estates neighborhood. This incident had an extremely traumatic effect, resulting in the whole summit collapsing into a crater four times its size. However, unlike the past 2018 eruption, the most recent eruption has not been as dangerous as the shooting lava has been staying within the summit crater. Because the explosion isn’t creating any threats to the nearby residents and tourists, the eruptions are deemed to be an exciting experience for many people.

Although the dangerous outcomes from volcano eruptions make these explosions seem abnormal, it is normal for these eruptions to occur on a regular basis. According to the United States Geological Survey, there is an estimation of at least one volcano eruption per week since there are about 50 to 60 eruptions per year. Mauna Loa and Kilauea are not the only active volcanoes; according to the Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, there are still 27 active volcanoes worldwide. Many researchers anticipate that current active volcanoes will continue to erupt.

<Eunice Kang Arnold O. Beckman High School 11th Grade>