Dramatic photos show one of Hawaii’s most active volcanos on the brink of eruption

Update, May 4, 10:30am ET: Mount Kilauea has erupted, around 1,500 people have been ordered to evacuate.

Residents of Hawaii’s Big Island are being told to prepare for a possible eruption at Mount Kilauea, one of the state’s most active volcanoes, after a series of more than 200 small earthquakes, CNN reports.

Kilauea has actually been erupting regularly since 1983, and its lava flows are one of the island’s biggest tourist attractions. The initial 1983 eruption sent lava more than 1,500 feet in the air, according to the AP.

But this time, local experts are concerned where a large lava flow might head. Jim Kauahikaua of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory compared this week’s seismic activity as similar to what the island saw before massive three-month-long 1955 Kilauea eruption that cut through almost 4,000 acres. Scientists believe that this time the lava is flowing toward the eastern parts of the island, near the population centers of Leilani Estates and Pahoa.

Aerial shots over the Puʻu ʻŌʻō crater and other parts of Kilauea show smoke, steam, and ash emanating from the volcano, while other views have shown “skylights” or holes in the surface that reveal lava flowing below.

Correction: This story previously misspelled the name of Mount Kilauea.