Penyewaan skuter listrik di kawasan Malioboro, Jumat (06/01/2023).(yvesta ayu/mojok.co)
Otoped atau Skuter listrik dilarang dioperasikan di jalan raya, trotoar maupun kawasan pedestrian atau pejalan kaki di Kota Yogyakarta, termasuk Malioboro. Dari lima kabupaten/kota di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY), Kota Yogyakarta menerapkan regulasi yang cukup lengkap dalam mengatur pelarangan skuter listrik di jalan raya.
Setelah beberapa bulan tak ada kejelasan, Pemkot Yogyakarta akhirnya menerbitkan Peraturan Walikota (perwal) yang mengatur skuter listrik dan otoped.
Pemkot Jogja menerbitkan Perwal Nomor 71 Tahun 2022 tentang Penggunaan Kendaraan Tertentu dengan Menggunakan Penggerak Motor Listrik. Perwal ini mengatur sejumlah aturan tentang penggunaan dan penyewaan skuter listrik yang marak di Kota Yogyakarta.
Dalam perwal tersebut disebutkan, setiap orang dilarang menggunakan atau menyewakan kendaraan tertentu dengan menggunakan penggerak motor listrik di jalan raya dan trotoar atau kawasan pedestrian. Kendaraan tertentu dengan menggunakan penggerak motor listrik hanya boleh digunakan di dalam komplek perumahan dan area perkantoran.
Setiap orang yang melanggar ketentuan akan dikenai sanksi administratif. Sanksinya yang diberlakukan berupa teguran lisan hingga pengamanan barang bukti.
Sebelumnya, Pemda DIY mendesak Pemkot Yogyakarta segera menertibkan penggunaan skuter listrik di wilayah Kota Yogyakarta. Larangan skuter tersebut merupakan tindak lanjut Surat Edaran (SE) Gubernur DIY Nomor 551/4671 tentang Larangan Operasional Kendaraan Tertentu Menggunakan Penggerak Motor Listrik di Jalan Margo Utomo, Jalan Malioboro, dan Jalan Margo Mulyo.
“Kalau sudah ada perwalnya, harus segera dilaksanakan penertibannya,” ujar Sekda DIY, Baskara Aji, pada hari Jumat, 06/01/2023.
Menurut Aji kebijakan serupa pun perlu diberlakukan di kabupaten lain. Karenanya Satpol PP dan petugas lain bisa segera menertibkan keberadaan skuter listrik di berbagai ruang publik.
Sebab banyak keluhan masyarakat muncul akibat penggunaan skuter listrik di ruas-ruas jalan utama sudah kembali marak saat ini. Pengguna maupun penyewa skuter listrik memanfaatkan jalan raya dan trotoar untuk aktivitas skuter listrik yang mengganggu kendaraan bermotor maupun pejalan kaki.
Padahal sesuai Peraturan Menteri Perhubungan Nomor 45 Tahun 2020 tentang Kendaraan Tertentu Dengan Menggunakan Penggerak Motor Listrik, skuter listrik dilarang beroperasi di jalan-jalan utama. Namun saat ini penyewaan skuter listrik justru menjamur di sejumlah kawasan, terutama di Tugu dan Malioboro. Bahkan banyak penyewa skuter listrik yang melanggar aturan dengan menggunakan skuter listrik di jalan raya dan trotoar.
“Masih saja ada pelanggaran, maka harus segera ditertibkan dan ada sanksi dengan adanya perwal, ini perlu disosialisasikan,” paparnya.
Sementara Kepala Satpol PP DIY, Noviar Rahmad menjelaskan, pihaknya mendukung pengaturan penggunaan skuter listrik di DIY. Pemda menunggu tindakan yang akan dilakukan Pemkot terkait keberadaan skuter listrik yang banyak dikeluhkan masyarakat karena banyak melanggar aturan.
“Kami akan back up upaya pemkot (menertibkan) skuter listrik,” jelasnya.
Larangan penggunaan skuter listrik, lanjut Noviar berlaku di seluruh wilayah Kota Yogyakarta. Selain itu kedepan juga akan diberlakukan di kabupaten lain di DIY.
“Bila melanggar ya diberi sanksi administratif. Teguran kemudian juga bisa disita (skuter listriknya), kan ada di perwalnya,” tandasnya.
"Dengan adanya regulasi, larangan penggunaan skuter listrik berlaku di seluruh wilayah, bila melanggar ancamannya sanksi mulai teguran sampai penyitaan skuter," kata Kepala Satuan Polisi Pamong Praja atau Satpol PP DIY Noviar Rahmad, Jumat, 6 Januari 2023.
Meski ada aturan itu, di lapangan beberapa pihak kadang masih kedapatan menyewakan skuter listrik bagi wisatawan. Terutama saat masa-masa liburan panjang yang padat pengunjung.
Dalam regulasi itu, kata Noviar, skuter listrik yang dikategorikan kendaraan tertentu dengan menggunakan penggerak motor listrik telah ditegaskan hanya boleh digunakan di dalam komplek perumahan dan area perkantoran.
"Adanya regulasi itu, kami akan membantu pemerintah kabupaten/kota menertibkan skuter listrik yang melanggar ketentuan operasional," kata dia menjelaskan.
This photo provided by Janice Wei shows the eruption inside the summit crater of the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Hawaii's Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, is erupting again and providing a spectacle that includes bursting lava fountains and lava "waves" but no Big Island communities are in danger. (Janice Wei via AP)
Lava from Kilauea spurted high into the air and spread out across about 300 acres (120 hectares) of the Hawaii volcano’s summit crater floor, creating a spectacular sight as the mountain began erupting again after a few weeks’ hiatus.
Jillian Marohnic said the pool of lava that formed inside Halemaumau Crater was “the most beautiful” she had ever seen in her 25 years of watching the volcano.
“The lake was so high. And so full. It’s sparkling,” said Marohnic, who operates the Volcano Hideaways vacation rental business with her husband in the nearby village of Volcano.
“The surface of the lake looks like stained glass,” she said.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. This latest eruption began Thursday, less than one month after Kilauea and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa went quiet. Kilauea last erupted from September 2021 through mid-December. Mauna Loa rumbled to life for the first time in 38 years when it erupted for about two weeks starting in late November.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Kilauea’s latest eruption is expected to remain inside the summit crater, which is within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities.
The observatory on Thursday raised Kilauea’s alert level, but lowered it the next morning from warning to watch “because the initial high effusion rates are declining, and no infrastructure is threatened.”
That is reassuring to Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth. “We’re feeling pretty good about where it’s at right now,” he said Friday.
The beauty of the eruption is a big draw for visitors.
John Tarson, who owns EpicLava, a tour company, said he has been “nonstop” talking to tourists who want to see the volcano.
“A lot of people were on the island and left to go do whatever else they’re doing in Hawaii and then learned about this. And now they’re rerouting all their plans and coming back so that they can see this,” he said.
On Thursday night, lava from Kilauea shot as high as 164 feet (50 meters) into the air -- roughly as high as the width of a football field -- but most so-called “lava fountains” were smaller, at 32 feet (10 meters) high.
The crater surface rose 32 feet (10 meters) by 7:30 p.m. Thursday as a result of all the new lava added, the observatory said.
By morning, the observatory said the lava fountains lost some vigor but were consistently 16 feet (5 meters) high.
This is typical behavior at the start of Kilauea eruptions, said Matt Patrick, a geologist at the observatory. “This is a cycle of collapse and refilling that Kilauea has done many, many times at its summit,” he said.
These early days are the best time to see lava on the surface, he said.
Jody Anastasio, a spokesperson for the national park, said it may be hard to see the lava during the day but there will be a glow at night and all of the park’s viewing areas will have good vantage points.
For Native Hawaiians, volcanic eruptions have deep cultural and spiritual significance. During Mauna Loa’s eruption, many Hawaiians took part in cultural traditions, such as singing, chanting and dancing to honor Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and leaving offerings known as “hookupu.”
Netanyahu’s visit to the UAE, scheduled for Jan. 8, has been canceled as the country has joined China in calling for the convening of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Israel’s moves over Al-Aqsa. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly been shocked by the strong Arab reaction to the visit of the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex by his National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Saudi Arabia has led a chorus of condemnation following the Jan. 3 visit, stressing the need to preserve the status quo of Islam’s third holiest site.
Netanyahu’s visit to the UAE, scheduled for Jan. 8, has been canceled as the country has joined China in calling for the convening of a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Israel’s moves over Al-Aqsa.
Netanyahu is waiting on the Emiratis to announce a new date for the visit.
The prime minister has issued a statement in which he tried to apologize, adding that he respects the status quo at the mosque and has no intention of altering it.
However, Ben-Gvir remains hostile toward Arabs and has been convicted in the past of terrorism against Palestinians by an Israeli court.
Israel has continued its efforts to prevent a Security Council meeting — which was initially scheduled for Thursday — and the publication of a strong statement condemning Israeli policy toward Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem.
Ronni Shaked, a researcher at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told Arab News that Netanyahu failed to realize the sensitivity of Al-Aqsa among Arabs and Muslims.
He added the prime minister was shocked at the reaction from the Arab and Muslim world, the EU and the US, saying that any violation of the site could lead to massive anger and instability.
“The problem is not with Ben-Gvir, who is known for his extremist ideological ideas, but rather with one who granted him the permission to visit Al-Aqsa, which is Netanyahu,” Shaked told Arab News.
“Ben-Gvir will work to shorten the life of Netanyahu’s government.
“After two weeks he will demand the legalization of 49 illegal settlement outposts established on Palestinian land in the West Bank. So what will Netanyahu do then?”
Israeli experts say that Netanyahu is currently focused on dealing with corruption cases against him which weaken his position.
However, Dana Ben-Shimon, a correspondent for Israel Today, told Arab News that Netanyahu and his ministers were surprised by condemnation of Ben-Gvir’s visit, adding that the government is set to hold a meeting to discuss whether to allow the minister to enter Al-Aqsa again.
“Netanyahu was prime minister for 10 years, and did not visit Al-Aqsa because he realized that his visit would generate massive anger,” Ben-Shimon said.
The prime minister will also be mindful of Jordan’s reaction to the mosque visit as Netanyahu bids to improve rocky relations with Amman.
Separately, authorities have released Palestinian prisoner Karim Younis, 66, from prison in Israel after 40 years in detention.
At Ben-Gvir’s request, authorities left Younis on the street to prevent any official reception for him at the entrance to his prison just north of Tel Aviv.
Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said he intended to withdraw Younis’ Israeli citizenship. In such an event, he would be sent to live in the West Bank.
Younis visited the grave of his parents, who died while he was in jail, and said that he was ready to sacrifice another 40 years for the freedom of the Palestinian people.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army has informed Palestinian officials of their imminent plans to forcibly displace more than 1,000 residents, including 500 children, in the Masafer Yatta area of southern Hebron in the south of the West Bank, according to human rights organizations.
Israeli forces killed a 16-year-old Palestinian, Amer Abu Zeitoun, on Thursday during a raid on Nablus. The killing brought to four, including three children, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the first week of January.
Vladimir Putin arrived at the Christmas service at the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin
The Christmas service was postponed from night to morning due to the danger to the parishioners, Archpriest Alexei Ustimenko, rector of St. Michael's Cathedral in Mariupol, told RIA Novosti.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill began the Christmas Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior
The Russian military in the Svatov direction in the Donbass adhere to the Christmas truce, unlike Kyiv, a fighter from the western group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces told RIA Novosti.
Special operation, January 6th. The main thing:
▪️The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that from 12.00 Moscow time on January 6, a ceasefire was declared on the entire front in the zone of special military operation for 36 hours;
▪️The department stated that the Kyiv regime continued shelling, despite the ceasefire imposed by the Russian Federation, the artillery of Ukraine was precisely suppressed by return fire;
▪️Medvedev, commenting on Ukraine's refusal to offer a Christmas truce, said that Kyiv had rejected the hand of Christian mercy extended to him by Moscow, but in this case there would be even fewer problems and slyness;
▪️In the Kupyansky and Krasno-Limansky directions, Kyiv lost about 100 people killed and wounded a day before the introduction of the ceasefire, in Donetsk - up to 80, in the South-Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions - more than 60, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported;
▪️The United States announced a new $3.75 billion military aid package to Ukraine. According to Secretary of State Blinken, $225 million of them will be sent to modernize the Ukrainian army, and $682 million to European countries to replenish military supplies.;
The new package of military assistance to Ukraine will amount to $3.75 billion, said Secretary of State Blinken. According to him, $225 million of them will be sent to modernize the Ukrainian army, and $682 million to European countries to replenish military supplies.
▪️Representative of the German Cabinet Steffen Hebeshtreit said that Berlin intends to supply Kyiv with about 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
▪️Russian troops eliminated up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen in the Donetsk direction;
▪️Russian forces eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian servicemen in the South Donetsk direction;
▪️The Russian Army eliminated more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen and a tank in the Kupyansk direction;
▪️Russian forces destroyed three Ukrainian warehouses with artillery ammunition in the DPR and the Kherson region;
▪️Russian troops destroyed a Ukrainian S-300 launcher and radar station in the DPR;
▪️The Russian Air Force shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 jet;
▪️The Russian Army suppressed Ukrainian troops in the Zaporozhye region after they fired eight missiles;
▪️Russian troops eliminated three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Krasny Liman direction;
▪️Russian forces destroyed a D-20 howitzer in the DPR and a US-made M-777 howitzer in the Zaporozhye region;
▪️Russian air defense systems destroyed five UAVs.
The Russian Embassy in Germany has condemned Berlin's decision to send tanks and other military hardware to Ukraine, saying the move was conducive to escalation and appeared "cynical" amid Russia's unilateral declaration of ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas.
On Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden in a phone call agreed on a new batch of military aid for Ukraine including heavy weapons. Germany announced plans to send Ukraine a battalion of about 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and Patriot air defense systems, as well as train Ukrainian troops in their use.
"We strongly condemn this decision and see it as another step toward escalating the conflict in Ukraine. Its adoption looks especially cynical on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas holiday, which is highly revered in the Christian world, and also against the backdrop of ceasefire unilaterally announced by the Russian President in this regard," the embassy said in a statement.
The Russian embassy said the speed with which Germany and the US coordinated the new military aid for Ukraine "leaves no doubt that Berlin did it under serious pressure from Washington, acting in accordance with the destructive logic of transatlantic solidarity."
Berlin's decision to supply Kiev with heavy weapons will have "the most negative impact on Russian-German relations," the statement read.
Supplying lethal weapons that are then being used not only against Russian servicemen but also civilians in Donbass is a "moral line that the German authorities should not have crossed, given this country's historic responsibility before our nation," the embassy said.
The decision to send more heavy weapons to Ukraine also shows that Western countries are not interested in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, the embassy said.
"Through their [Western countries'] efforts, Ukraine has actually been turned into a firing range and the Ukrainian people into a tool to achieve the West's geopolitical interests, which in the end lead only to the prolongation of hostilities, pointless casualties and destruction," the embassy added.
Since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Western countries have been providing Kiev with humanitarian, military and financial aid. Moscow has denounced the flow of weapons to Ukraine from its Western allies, saying it adds fuel to the fire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeatedly noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia.
Representative Kevin McCarthy’s struggle to win election as speaker has ground the House to a halt, preventing any lawmakers from being sworn in or legislative business from being conducted.Credit...T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times
Representative Kevin McCarthy of California contorted himself on Thursday to try to win over right-wing holdouts as his battle to become speaker limped toward a fourth day, offering concessions that could substantially weaken his authority and empower a strident right flank.
After a humiliating three-day stretch of 11 consecutive defeats in an election that is now the most protracted such contest since 1859, Mr. McCarthy dispatched his emissaries to hammer out a deal with the ultraconservative rebels, including agreeing to conditions he had previously refused to countenance in a last-ditch effort to sway a critical mass of defectors.
They included allowing a single lawmaker to force a snap vote at any time to oust the speaker, a rule that would effectively codify a standing threat that Mr. McCarthy would be at the mercy of the right wing at all times, and could be removed instantly if he crossed them.
That concession and several others, which Mr. McCarthy hoped would win over a large bloc of dissidents, would diminish the speaker’s power considerably and make for an unwieldy environment in the House, where the slim Republican majority and a hard-right faction with an appetite for disarray had already promised to make it difficult to govern.
Some of the changes left little doubt that the House would struggle to carry out even its most basic duties in the coming two years, such as funding the government, including the military, or avoiding catastrophic federal debt default. Already, the struggle has ground the House to a halt just as Republicans were assuming their majority, preventing any lawmakers from being sworn in, rules from being adopted or legislative business from being conducted.
Lawmakers were losing their security clearances, and a House committee confirmed that, if no resolution were reached by next week, congressional aides working for committees could not be paid, since the House would lack authority to process payroll on Jan. 13, the next payroll deadline.
Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a fierce McCarthy opponent, indicated she did not expect any emerging deal to sway holdouts. Credit...Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times
But while people close to Mr. McCarthy said they were hopeful the compromises would soon persuade enough holdouts to support him, no votes had moved by nightfall on Thursday, and it was not known whether he could pick up the converts needed to prevail — or how long that might take. As negotiations continued, the House adjourned for the third straight day with no speaker.
As he left the House floor on Thursday night, Mr. McCarthy said that the negotiations had yielded “a little movement” and denied that the concessions he had offered would undermine his speakership.
“Has it undercut the power of all the other speakers?” he replied, after a reporter asked whether allowing for a snap vote for his removal would weaken him. “So why would it cut mine? It’d only be a weaker speaker if I was afraid of it.”
In fact, the specter of such a vote allowed right-wing lawmakers to push out John A. Boehner, the Ohio Republican, from the speakership in 2015, and the threat hung heavily over his successor, Paul D. Ryan, during his tenure.
But Mr. McCarthy appeared unworried by the events of the past week.
“The entire conference is going to have to learn how to work together,” he said in his most extensive remarks to reporters since the election began on Tuesday. “So it’s better that we go through this process right now.”
He added later: “If this takes a little longer, and it doesn’t meet your deadline, that’s OK. Because it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”
The spectacle of Mr. McCarthy repeatedly prostrating himself to please an intractable hard-right faction only seemed to fuel the opposition of some of his detractors, who regarded the Republican leader’s maneuvering as confirmation of their view that the Californian lacks principle and would do anything for power.
“There are no concessions,” said Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado. “The deal is over with him. He does not have the votes. He will not become speaker.”
The scene on the House floor on Thursday was one of hard-right lawmakers again and again refusing to spare Mr. McCarthy the humiliation of being defeated on vote after vote even as they negotiated privately with his allies, led by Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. It foreshadowed two years of dysfunction, fueled by a slim majority, an unyielding hard-right flank that disdains the normal operations of government and a leader who has been willing to undermine the power of the speaker’s gavel in his quest to grasp it.
Still, Mr. McCarthy’s allies held out hope that the concessions he had agreed to would appeal to enough Republicans that the small remaining group of lawmakers who have said they would never support the Californian’s bid would be isolated, and forced to back down.
“Every hour has been successively better than the last,” Mr. McHenry said. “Obviously, we started not at a very high place, but we’re now getting to a very good place.”
That did not appear to be happening yet. Ms. Boebert, who on Thursday offered the name of Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, had hours earlier declared on the House floor: “We need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like.”
With all members elected to the House present and voting, Mr. McCarthy would need 218 votes to become speaker, leaving little room for Republican defections, as the party controls only 222 seats. He has consistently fallen well short of that level this week, drawing no more than 203 votes even as his Democratic counterpart, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, has won 212, with every member of his party united behind him. On Thursday, Mr. McCarthy’s number slipped to 201.
Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida is one of at least three lawmakers who have emerged as leaders of the “Never Kevin” movement.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York Times
To win the speaker’s gavel, Mr. McCarthy must lock down the support of all but four or five defectors. There are at least three lawmakers who have defiantly emerged as leaders of the “Never Kevin” movement, including Ms. Boebert and Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Bob Good of Virginia.
“You don’t ever have to ask me again if I’m a no,” Mr. Good told a reporter as he walked to the Capitol. “I will never vote for Kevin McCarthy.”
Mr. McCarthy’s allies bargained throughout the day anyway with a group of defectors more amenable to trying to break the stalemate, with some negotiators missing votes as they bartered back and forth.
“The devil is in the details,” said Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina, when asked if he was open to voting for Mr. McCarthy in exchange for sweeping concessions.
The Republican leader had also committed to allowing the right-wing faction to pick a third of the party’s members on the powerful Rules Committee, which controls what legislation reaches the floor and in what form, according to a person who has been involved in the talks, who described them on condition of anonymity. Mr. McCarthy also said he would open government spending bills to a freewheeling debate in which any lawmaker could force votes on proposed changes, including those designed to scuttle or sink the measure.
The rebels have agitated for that change in an effort to give greater power over the federal purse strings to rank-and-file lawmakers, rather than the senior leaders who normally have carte blanche over such legislation. It could make it all but impossible to pass a spending bill in the House, leading to a government shutdown.
As private negotiations with the dissidents ground on and the seemingly endless filed votes continued on the House floor, some lawmakers resigned themselves to a dead-eyed state of arrested development, miserably trudging around the chamber carrying caffeinated beverages and wondering how they had reached this point.
Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, a moderate who has been unsparing in his criticism of the hard-right flank, suggested that the mutiny would not easily be forgotten.
“I am a Christian, I believe in forgiving; I can forgive the individual,” he said. “But when it comes to professional, who do you trust? There’s a lot of trust that’s been burned here.”
Reporting was contributed by Annie Karni, Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane, Christopher Cameron, Stephanie Lai, Zach Montague and Michael Gold.
Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater Thursday, less than a month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava.(U.S. Geological Survey)
Hawaii’s Kilauea began erupting inside its summit crater Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, less than a month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images indicating that Kilauea had begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit caldera, the agency said.
Kilauea’s summit is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities.
Earlier Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey raised the alert level for Kilauea because of signs that magma was moving below the summit surface, which can presage an eruption.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It last erupted for 16 months, starting in September 2021. For about two weeks starting Nov. 27, Hawaii had two volcanoes spewing lava side by side when Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years. Both volcanoes stopped erupting at about the same time.
During the twin eruption, visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were able to see lava from both eruptions at the same time.
“It was a beautiful eruption and lots of people got to see it, and it didn’t take out any major infrastructure and, most importantly, it didn’t affect anybody’s life,” said Ken Hon, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge.
Mauna Loa’s lava didn’t pose a threat to any communities, but got within 1.7 miles of a major highway connecting the east and west sides of the island. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 residences.
The observatory plans to continue monitoring the volcanoes for signs of renewed activity. Hon previously said that there is generally a three-month “cooling off” period before scientists consider an eruption to be complete.
It was unclear what connection there could be between the volcanoes stopping their eruptions around the same time. The volcanoes can be seen at the same time from multiple spots near Kilauea’s caldera.
Scientists planned to study the relationship between the two volcanoes, Hon previously said.
For Native Hawaiians, volcanic eruptions have deep cultural and spiritual significance. During Mauna Loa’s eruption, many Hawaiians took part in cultural traditions, such as singing, chanting and dancing, to honor Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire, and leaving offerings known as “hookupu.”
