ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano entered the Pacific Ocean as steam rose in the background yesterday in Volcano, Hawaii. Mauna Loa is stirring after an 18-year pause, and an eruption could be devastating to the neighborhoods built on the giant volcano's slopes since 1984, scientists said yesterday.
Mauna Loa activity VOLCANO, Hawaii >> Mauna Loa is stirring after an 18-year pause, and an eruption could be devastating to the neighborhoods built on the giant volcano's slopes in the intervening years, scientists said yesterday.
may prove threat
to homes
The summit's swelling after an
18-year pause could signal
an eruption, scientists sayAssociated Press
"There has been a substantial amount of development on what has historically been the most hazardous part of Mauna Loa -- its southwest rift zone above South Point," said Peter Cervelli, a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
"Though lava flows can reach Hilo on the eastern side of the island and the Gold Coast resorts of Kona in the west, flows are much more likely to inundate the subdivisions in the southwest rift zone -- and possibly without much warning."
Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since 1843. In spring 1984, Mauna Loa erupted for three weeks, sending a 16-mile lava flow toward Hilo. Since then, the USGS estimates that more than $2.3 billion has been invested in new construction along Mauna Loa's slopes, including the large Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision on the southwest rift.
"When Mauna Loa erupts out of its southwest rift zone, it can get lava to the ocean in a matter of hours," Cervelli said. "It's remarkable that they chose to build there. In some cases, they're building on lava flows that are less than 100 years old.
"It's testament to how active the slope is."
Scientists from Stanford University recently joined the observatory in monitoring the 13,500-foot volcano, which began to stir on May 12.
Recent geophysical data collected on the surface has revealed that Mauna Loa's summit caldera has begun to swell and stretch at a rate of 2 to 2 1/2 inches a year, which can be a precursor of an eruption, scientists said.
"We're at a stage where it's months to years, rather than days to weeks," Cervelli said.
Scientists are working to detect an eruption as early as possible to give people a chance to evacuate the populated areas.
"Earthquakes will always precede the movement of magma to the surface," Cervelli said. "In our experience, it's going to be at least hours.
"It's not like Kilauea, where you just walk up to the lava and poke a stick in it."
Paul Segall, a professor of geophysics at Stanford who has worked with USGS volcanologists in Hawaii since 1990, noted, "Mauna Loa is capable of erupting huge volumes of lava in a relatively short period of time, and the flows can reach great distances. It presents a more significant safety hazard than Kilauea."
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
