The eruption on the Big Island occurred on Sunday night, local time in Halemaumau Crater, COH said. The Kilauea volcano observatory raised the alert level to the point of warning, an adviser said.
A glow was detected in the crater at the summit of the volcanoes and “an eruption has begun in the caldera of the Kilauea summit,” the adviser said.
“Trade winds will lift the embedded ash to the southwest. There is likely to be precipitation in the Kau district, in Wood Valley, Pahala, Naalehu and Ocean View. Stay inland.” said the COH tweet.
The warning comes after a 4.4-magnitude earthquake near Hilo, local time Sunday, according to the American Geological Survey’s earthquake control website.
USGS shows that at least seven other earthquakes ranging from 2.5 to 2.7 in magnitude have occurred during the previous hours.
Kilauea erupted in May 2018 and destroyed more than 700 homes and forced residents to evacuate, CNN previously reported.