Kilauea volcano, the home of Pele, Hawaii's volcano goddess, is erupting. The U.S. Geological Survey announced that the volcano started its eruption on Wednesday, just hours after an eruption watch was issued.
#Kilauea is currently erupting from the #Halemaumau summit crater. HVO will be releasing an update soon. USGS livestream is showing the action. https://t.co/jAcOUDIHjq #Hawaii #lava #eruption pic.twitter.com/ouummDrAs8
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) June 7, 2023
The USGS said the eruption was noticed just before 4:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday when the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory "detected glow in Kīlauea summit webcam images." Those images showed that the eruption started within the volcano's Halema'uma'u crater.
"Webcam imagery shows fissures at the base of Halema'uma'u crater generating lava flows on the surface of the crater floor," the agency said. "The activity is confined to Halema'uma'u and the hazards will be reassessed as the eruption progresses."
Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency says there is currently "No indication that populated areas are threatened."
Click here for a live stream of the erupting volcano.