As Kilauea volcano keeps raging, Mauna Loa goes quiet

MAUNA LOA, HAWAII (HawaiiNewsNow) - Well here's one less thing to worry about on the Big Island: Activity at Mauna Loa volcano has died down.

That's according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which said the alert level for Mauna Loa is now back to "Normal" from "Advisory."

The observatory said monitoring networks have been recording "near background levels" of seismic activity and ground motion at the volcano for at least six months. "These observations indicate that the volcano is no longer at an elevated level of activity," the observatory said.

But geologists said they'll continuing to closely watch the volcano.

Meanwhile, vigorous eruptions of Kilauea (Hawaii's other active volcano) continue in lower Puna. There are no signs those are letting up.

Since 1843, Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times, according to the Hawaii Center for Volcanology at UH-Manoa.

The latest flow took place in 1984. Some 220 million cubic meters of lava flowed out of the summit in three different flows.

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