Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii’s Big Island

An eruption started at Kīlauea’s summit at approximately 9:30 p.m. HST with multiple fissures opening on the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The lava cascaded into the summit water lake, boiling off the water and forming a new lava lake at the base of the crater. The northern fissure, pictured, was producing the tallest lava fountain at roughly 50 m (165 ft), and all lava was contained within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea caldera. USGS photo.

by: The Associated Press and Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Dec 21, 2020 / 07:08 AM MST

Updated: Dec 21, 2020 / 07:08 AM MST

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HONOLULU, Hawaii (NEXSTAR) — The U.S. Geological Survey says the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island has erupted. A magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit about an hour after the volcano began erupting.

The eruption began late Sunday within the Halema’uma’u crater. The volcano is located within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Photographer Ken Boyer (@kenboyerphoto) broadcasting live on Facebook from Kīlauea overlook, answering questions from viewers around the world. Earlier scenes captured explosions as the water lake in the crater vaporized. #kilauea #volcano #hawaii pic.twitter.com/zXInpCdiMM
— Ryan Kawailani Ozawa (@hawaii) December 21, 2020

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory acting Scientist-in-Charge David Phillips said, “HVO continues to monitor Kīlauea as the situation is rapidly evolving with this evening’s eruption at the summit of Kīlauea. We will send out further notifications on Kīlauea and other Hawaiian volcanoes as we observe changes.”

The USGS says it received more than 500 reports of people who felt the earthquake but significant damage to buildings or structures is not expected.

The National Weather Service has issued an advisory to warn of fallen ash from the volcano. It says excessive exposure to ash is an eye and respiratory irritant.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.