Twenty members of the National Guard have been dispatched to assist authorities with traffic control and other duties related to the Mauna Loa eruption, the Civil Protection Agency said on Twitter Monday. The ongoing lava flows threaten a major highway, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Mauna Loa erupted on November 27. It has been continuously spewing lava onto the northern slope ever since — even though the flow has slowed significantly in recent days, according to the USGS.
So far, the eruption has not endangered any homes. But the lava flows are increasingly moving towards one of the main roads, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway. According to USGS information, the lava was still about two miles from the road as of Monday afternoon. The closure would force residents to take major detours.
The USGS said current conditions make it difficult to predict when or if the flow will hit the Daniel K. Inouye Highway. While sulfur dioxide levels have dropped, they are still high enough to have “moderate to severe impacts on regional air quality, depending on plume speed and wind direction.”
Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843, according to the USGS. The last eruption occurred in 1984 and lasted 22 days. At the time, lava flowed within seven kilometers of the city of Hilo, home to about 44,000 people.
(SDA)