One of the world's most active volcanoes, Kilauea in Hawaii, has violently reawakened. Since Sunday afternoon, powerful streams of molten rock have been erupting from the crater, reaching heights of 250 to 300 meters. The U.S. Geological Survey is monitoring the situation, recording unique atmospheric phenomena, including a rainbow over the crater. Although the scale of the event is impressive, no direct threat to nearby human settlements has been identified at this time.

Extreme Lava Height

Magma fountains ejected from the crater reached a record height of 300 meters, making this eruption one of the most spectacular in recent years.

Enormous Magma Volume

Within the first day, 10 million cubic meters of lava erupted from the Earth's interior, covering 40% of the surface of the crater floor.

No Threat to People

Currently, lava is accumulating exclusively inside the crater, and services have not ordered the evacuation of nearby towns or the capital in Honolulu.

The Kilauea volcano, located on the largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago, began a violent eruption on Sunday, February 15, 2026. According to reports from the United States Geological Survey, activity is concentrated within the crater, where at least two emission fissures have opened. Lava fountains erupted from the southern and northern parts of the crater, reaching a height of 300 meters at their peak. It is estimated that about 10 million cubic meters of magma were released in a short time, leading to the flooding of nearly 40% of the crater floor with molten rock. The phenomenon is accompanied by numerous seismic tremors and the emission of dense plumes of dust and volcanic gases. An interesting aspect of the current activity was the recording by monitoring cameras of a spectacular rainbow, which stretched over the smoking volcano on Monday morning, creating a unique contrast between the element and the optical phenomenon. Kilauea is considered one of the youngest and most active shield volcanoes on Earth. Its nearly continuous activity since 1983 has shaped a large part of the southeastern coast of Hawaii Island, although the tragically impactful eruption of 2018 destroyed hundreds of homes. Despite the high dynamism of the eruption, experts reassure residents. Currently, the lava remains confined within the caldera and shows no tendency to leave the national park area. Technical services remain on high alert, tracking wind directions that could carry volcanic dust towards inhabited areas of Oahu Island, where the state capital, Honolulu, is located. Scale of Current Volcanic Activity: Height of lava fountains (m): 300, Volume of erupted lava (million m3): 10, Crater floor coverage (%): 40300 meters — is the maximum height of the lava fountains