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It’s eruptions are also a significant source of pollution in the atmosphere. Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since its first documented eruption in 1843, and its volcanic activity has caused widespread damage over the years, including the loss of human lives and destruction of property. It’s eruptions are also a significant source of pollution in the atmosphere.ĭamage from Earthquakes – Mauna Loa, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is also the world’s largest volcano, encompassing almost 2,000 square miles of the island of Hawaii, or about half of the island’s land area. Its volcanic activity has caused widespread damage over the years, including the loss of human lives and destruction of property. Mauna Loa, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is also the world’s largest volcano. the falling of walls and chimneys, the swaying of trees, the trembling of shrubs, the fright of men and animals, made throughout the southern half of Hawaii such scenes of terror as had never been witnessed before,” the Reverend Titus Coan wrote. The quake unleashed river of mud about a half-mile wide and twenty feet deep in Wood Valley, burying ten homes and killing thirty one people as well hundreds of livestock at William Reed’s Kapāpala Ranch. Landslides occurred as far north as Waipio. At Waiʻōhinu, a large stone church reportedly collapsed just seconds after the shaking began. magnitude.ĭamage was immediate and it was extensive.
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A steady flow of quakes adopted within the subsequent days at rates of fifty- 300 each day, with a minumum of one the size of a 6. magnitude earthquake occured in Ka, around the southern area of the island, causing extensive damage. 77 Hawaiians died in the associated tsunami and landslides.Įarthquakes and tremors soon started to improve. The eruption of Mauna Loa in the spring of 1868 and the deadly phenomena surrounding it were one of the greatest natural disasters in Hawaiian history. The volcano is classified as a “Decade Volcano,” volcanoes that are watched and studied to mitigate the hazards posed to population centers by eruptions. Much of the city of Hilo is built on top of 20th-century lava flows from Mauna Loa. Danger from Flows Though Hawaii practices volcanic zoning, which tries to set aside land vulnerable to eruptions as, say, parks or recreation areas, sometimes the efforts have mixed results. When the volcano erupts, it is capable of sending forth a large volume of lava in a short amount of time. About 40 percent of it is less than 1,000 years old. Nearly all of Mauna Loa’s surface is less than 10,000 years old. Since Mauna Loa is an active volcano, it is still adding to the island of Hawaii’s land. Indeed, Hawaii was formed because of volcanic activity. Land Formation Though volcanic eruptions are destructive, they are also constructive. Its flanks, produced by lava flow, reach across Hawaii to touch the sea in the northeast and northwest, while the entire southern part of the island is part of the volcano. Zones on Mauna Loa – Mauna Loa, located on the Island of Hawaii, is one of the most active volcanoes on the Earth. EarthquakesThrough the years, Mauna Loa has triggered earthquakes large and small. In 1984, flows came within four miles of Hilo, sparing the town but destroying the forests above. In 1950, the eruption of Mauna Loa sent voluminous amounts of lava downslope through small villages in upper Ho’okena, destroying homes, a gas station, lodge, church and a cemetery. An eyewitness account of the lava flow of 1855 to 1856 detailed Pele’s (volcano goddess) descent toward the town of Hilo, taking out vast swaths of forest. Recent Lava FlowsFrom the time of its first documented eruption in 1843, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times. Although this “Long Mountain” hasn’t erupted since 1984, it is sure to erupt again, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. One of the planet’s most active volcanoes, Mauna Loa has wrought destruction through the ages. Measuring from the sea floor, Mauna Loa rises 56,000 feet above its base. What Kind of Damage Has Mauna Loa Caused?Įarthquakes – Encompassing more than 50 percent of Hawaii’s Big Island, the active volcano of Mauna Loa is one of the most imposing land masses on earth.