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Overnight News Digest: Hawaii's Mauna Loa erupts after 40 years dormant

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Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano erupts for first time in 40 years

The Guardian, US Edition

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, has started to erupt for the first time in nearly four decades, prompting volcanic ash and debris to fall nearby, authorities said on Monday.

The eruption began late Sunday night in the summit caldera of the volcano on the Big Island, the US Geological Survey said. Early on Monday, it said lava flows were contained within the summit area and were not threatening nearby communities.

“However, lava flows in the summit region are visible from Kona. There is currently no indication of any migration of the eruption into a rift zone,” the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement. A rift zone is where the mountain is splitting apart, the rock is cracked and relatively weak and it is easier for magma to emerge.

How long the volcano erupts and whether it could cause lava to flow to populated areas of the island is impossible to predict, said Miel Corbett, a USGS spokesperson.

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