Kilauea Volcano Erupts on Hawaii's Big Island

Back in 2018, the volcano erupted and ultimately destroyed more than 700 homes. Following Sunday night's eruption, several earthquakes were recorded.

December 21, 2020

The Kilauea Volcano, located inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, has erupted.

Per Reuters, the volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted late Sunday night. Residents were urged to stay indoors upon report of the eruption at the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano. At approximately 10:36 p.m. local time, a 4.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded beneath Kilauea's south flank.

"HVO [Hawaiian Volcano Observatory] continues to monitor Kilauea as the situation is rapidly evolving with this evening's eruption at the summit of Kilauea," scientist-in-charge for the HVO, David Phillips, said in a press release. "We will send out further notifications on Kilauea and other Hawaiian volcanoes as we observe changes."

An additional seven earthquakes, per the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake monitoring system, have also been reported. The quakes ranged from 2.5 to 2.7 in magnitude.

Back in 2018, Kilauea erupted and ultimately destroyed more than 700 homes. An area estimated at more than half the size of the city of Manhattan was buried in up to 80 feet of lava. At the time, the estimated cost for recovery was reported at $800 million.

"In a volcanic eruption, everything you know is no longer there," Harry Kim, mayor of Big Island at the time, told reporters.