Where is Mauna Loa erupting from?

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It's about 200 miles south of Hawaii's most populous island, Oahu, where the state capital, Honolulu, and beach resort Waikiki are both located.

Mauna Loa's volume is estimated to be at least 18,000 square miles, making it the world's largest volcano when measured from the ocean floor to its summit.

An aerial view from a helicopter cockpit shows lava spewing out of the earth during Mauna Loa's eruption in Hawaii, November 28, 2022, in this still image taken from social media video.
An aerial view from a helicopter cockpit shows lava spewing out of the earth during Mauna Loa's eruption in Hawaii, November 28, 2022, in this still image taken from social media video.
Samantha Hansen/Safari Helicopters via Reuters
The eruption began Sunday night at its summit after a series of telegram database large earthquakes.

Scientists said they knew the eruption was coming. "We just didn't know that it was going to be in the middle of the night after Thanksgiving weekend," USGS volcanologist Wendy Stovall told CBS News correspondent Carter Evans.

The eruption then spread to vents on the mountain's northeast side and lava emerging there could head toward Hilo, which is on the east side of the island.

Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said he doesn't expect additional vents to form on the volcano's southwest rift zone during this eruption. That means communities to the west would be spared lava flows this time.

Mauna Loa also erupted from the northeast in 1984. That time, lava headed toward Hilo but stopped a few miles short of the city.

Historically, each Mauna Loa eruption has lasted a few weeks. Hon expects the current eruption to follow this pattern.