Mauna Loa has been in the news lately, as the volcano continues to awaken from its slumber. While an eruption of Mauna Loa is not imminent, now is the time to revisit personal eruption plans. Similar to preparing for hurricane season, having an eruption plan in advance helps during an emergency.

Pele returned to the summit of Kilauea on the evening of Dec. 20, 2020. Incredible video documents the start of the new eruption in Halema’uma’u and the dynamic ongoing activity. There was no significant change that suggested lava would erupt again so rapidly, but there were subtle signs of restless behavior around Kilauea’s summit in the months prior to the eruption.

“When will Mauna Loa erupt next?” This was the title of a Volcano Awareness Month video presentation released by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in January. This was also the topic of discussion among HVO scientists last week following the detection of slight changes in ground deformation and seismicity at the summit of Mauna Loa.

This story begins after Kilauea’s May 4, 2018, magnitude-6.9 earthquake and lower East Rift Zone eruption. The magnitude-6.9 earthquake resulted in seaward motion at the surface of Kilauea’s south flank of up to approximately 1.5 feet as measured by GPS monitoring stations operated by the U.S. Gelogical Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Words matter in volcanology just as in the rest of society. Words matter among volcanologists themselves, of course, but they particularly matter in our dealings with the public, when we attempt to both tell what is happening and educate about how volcanoes work. Accuracy of words promotes understanding and clarity of thought and is essential to both telling and educating.