What Kind of Damage Has Mauna Loa Caused?
Hawaii’s active volcanic status is responsible for the island’s great beauty but is also a powerful destructive force giant breaking wave in hawaii image by NorthShoreSurfPhotos from Fotolia.com Mauna Loa, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, is also the world’s largest volcano, encompassing almost 2,000 square miles of the island of Hawaii, or about half of the island’s land area, according to the U.S. Geological Service (USGS). Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times since its first documented eruption in 1843, and its volcanic activity has caused widespread damage over the years, including the loss of human lives and destruction of property. Damage from Lava Flows The greatest hazard from the volcano of Mauna Loa is lava flows from eruptions, according to the USGS. Early eyewitness accounts of Mauna Loa’s active period during the mid-to-late 1800s describe some of the damage wreaked by Mauna Loa’s lava flows. A firsthand account of Mauna Loa’s 1868 eruption describes an “immense stream
