Hawaii volcano spews 9 km-high plume of ash

NEW YORK. KAZINFORM Kilauea volcano, located in the eastern part of the island of Hawaii, the largest in the Hawaii archipelago, spewed ash at a height of approximately 9.1 km, the US Geological Survey said in a statement.

As noted in the statement, ash is falling on several nearby villages, TASS reports.

"With ash eruptions occurring from Kilauea's summit this week, there is a threat of an even larger steam-driven violent explosion. Such an eruption could happen suddenly and send volcanic ash 20,000 feet into the air, threatening communities for miles," the US Geological Survey said.

The experts of the US Geological Survey issued a red danger code, which means that there is an ash cloud in the air. The ash cloud makes visibility difficult for pilots and can damage the engines of airliners. The crews of the aircraft are ordered not to enter the airspace above the volcano within a radius of 8 km around the crater.

The eruption of Kilauea began on May 3. It was accompanied by an earthquake of magnitude 6.9. The epicenter of the tremors was 25.5 km southwest of the special zone of Hawaiian Paradise Park (Pune County) with a population of just over 11,000.

Governor of the State David Ige on May 9 announced the district of Pune, where the volcano is located, a zone of natural disaster. In total, about 2,000 people were evacuated from the zone affected by the volcano eruption over the last two weeks.