Securely Travel Travel Securely
Pele is adding her voice as we enter into the final month of 2022. The world’s largest volcano erupted late evening on the 27th of November at the Mokuʻāweoweo Caldera of the Mauna Loa volcano located in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
Securely Travel is on the way to Mauna Loa to cover this momentous event.
The USGS advises that four fissures have opened and lava flows remain visible from afar. The best viewing is from the designated parking areas along the DKI (Route 200) highway (formerly known as Saddle Road). The governor’s office has issued an emergency order that parking along the DKI on the shoulder is subject to $1000 fine.
The Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is open, the area surrounding Mauna Loa summit area is closed to visitors.
The Governor’s office has activated the Emergency Operating Center - The probability of the lava flow reaching the DKI is high, the timing is “some time away”, no sooner than 2 December.
The preliminary Department of Highways emergency plan is shared below.
Air Travel to the Big Island
Air travel to the island of Hawaii is unaffected at this time, save for the exclusion zone above the erupting volcano
Mauna Loa Update
No evacuation order has been given at this time, no homes or businesses are currently threatened. The DKI Highway is, of course, of note and being observed. The USGS during a morning conference re Mauna Loa equated the flow of lava to be equal to 10-dump trucks every second.
The Hawaii County’s website includes an Mauna Loa Inundation Zones interactive map which is searchable by address.
Kīlauea
Separately, the eruption at Kīlauea volcano which began on September 29, 2021, at approximately 3:21 p.m. HST in Halema‘uma‘u crater continues and has generated an large lava lake, and visitors to the National Park have been able to observe Kilauea from the rim of that caldera.
