Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii’s Big Island

The eruption was reported at the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano, the Hawaii county Civil Defense Agency said in a tweet https://bit.ly/3awLH1G early on Monday, requesting residents to stay indoors.

Excessive exposure to ash is an eye and respiratory irritant, it said.

They said the situation is "rapidly evolving" and they will provide more information about the eruption when they have it.

About an hour later, the agency recorded a magnitude 4.4 quake located beneath Kilauea's south flank.

The USGS says it received more than 500 reports of people who felt the quake but significant damage to buildings or structures is not expected. The lava flowed over the course of four months.

Hawaii Island, or the Big Island, is the largest of the eight main islands which make up the Pacific US state - an archipelago that includes hundreds of smaller volcanic islands.

The volcano erupted continuously between 1983 and 2018, destroying a number of towns and homes over the years. More than 700 homes were destroyed in the historic eruption, and most people will never move back to their land.