US

Hawaiian volcano erupts emitting huge plume of ash

About 2,000 evacuated as lava destroys at least 26 homes following earlier earthquakes

Eyewitness footage shows the damage caused by Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, lava from 21 fissures has torn through housing developments and farmland. Video: USGS/Apau Hawaii Tours

Thu May 17 2018 - 17:38

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has erupted from its summit, shooting a dusty plume of ash about 30,000ft into the sky.

Mike Poland, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey, confirmed the explosion on Thursday.

It comes after more than a dozen fissures recently opened miles to the east of the crater and spewed lava into neighbourhoods.

A crack cuts through the roadway caused by seismic activity from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island, on Thursday. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

People watch as ash erupt from the Halemaumau crater near the community of Volcano during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, on Wednesday. Photograph:Terray Sylvester/Reuters

About 2,000 people were evacuated as lava destroyed at least 26 homes and 10 other structures.

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The crater sits within the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been closed since May 11.

Officials have said they did not expect the explosion to be deadly as long as people remained out of the park.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

An eruption in 1924 killed one person and sent rocks, ash and dust into the air for 17 days. – AP

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