The Eruption Of Mauna Loa
On November 27, the earth’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, began erupting for the first time in almost 40 years. As of the writing of this article, the volcano, located on the island of Hawaii, is still erupting, but is expected to calm down soon. According to an article from Science News, Mauna Loa generally used to erupt around every seven years, so this 40 year gap between eruptions is an uncommon occurrence. Luckily, there have been no reported deaths from the eruption. In fact, an eruption of Mauna Loa has not led to any fatalities since people began keeping records of the volcano’s activity almost 150 years ago.
Many people characterize volcanic eruptions as disastrous and devastating, likely thinking of the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Ancient Rome. However, it is important to remember that, unlike the Ancient Romans, we have the technology to predict when volcanic eruptions will occur, through detection of seismic activity. Scientists were able to predict that Mauna Loa would erupt soon, though they weren’t exactly sure when. An eruption can only be definitively predicted when a large surge of earthquakes in a particular area is detected, which in Mauna Loa’s case, was only an hour and a half before the eruption itself.
As you can probably guess, there have been many recent volcanic eruptions that were, unfortunately, fatal. So, what makes one eruption more dangerous and fatal than another? This depends on the composition of the volcano itself, its proximity to humans, and the response to the initial eruption. Volcanoes are formed when the crust, or surface layer, of the earth ruptures enough for lava to escape. Depending on the location of the volcano, different types of magma, or molten rock, will be found in the volcano, which will affect how explosive and powerful volcanic eruptions will be. So, some volcanoes are just naturally more dangerous than others.
Although Mauna Loa, as previously mentioned, has not caused any fatalities in centuries, it certainly has the potential to. According to an article in the Washington Post, lava flowing down the western slope could reach human populations very quickly, as that side of the volcano is much steeper than the others. Additionally, a longer eruption means that there is a larger possibility of lava flowing far enough to reach populated areas. Luckily, the lava is currently flowing on the northeast side of the volcano, and the eruption is expected to end soon. Still, it seems volcanic eruptions leave a lot up to chance when it comes to potential casualties, but to be fair, that’s often how nature is - unpredictable and sometimes dangerous.