News Update: Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupting in 'full swing' - USGS

 Sept 30 (Reuters) - Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano was erupting in "full swing" late on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, with local media reporting that the eruption posed no immediate danger to residents.

"What was once a cooling lava lake is now a new fissure eruption," USGS Volcanoes said in a tweet.

© 2020 Andrew Richard Hara KILAUEA, HI - DECEMBER 21: Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano on December 21, 2020 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. The Kilauea Volcano has been inactive for the past two years, reactivating the previous night on December 20th. (Photo by Andrew Richard Hara/Getty Images)

The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) elevated  Kīlauea's  volcano alert level from "WATCH" to "WARNING" and its aviation color code from "ORANGE" to "RED" as the  new eruption and associated hazards are evaluated, USGS said.

The latest alert level and color code imply that a hazardous eruption is "imminent, underway or suspected," according to the USGS website.

The eruption was not in an area with homes and was fully contained within the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii News Now reported, citing officials.