Lava shoots through a 500-foot-long fissure in the middle of a Hawaiian neighborhood

A fissure nearly 500 feet long opened up in the Leilani Estates neighborhood in Hawaii Thursday evening, spewing lava into the air for around two hours.

The lava didn't engulf any homes but prompted some evacuations. The molten rock only traveled around a few yards from the large crack, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey.

This volcanic behavior, while exciting, is normal for the Big Island's Kilauea volcano, which is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It's been flowing continuously since the 1980s, though not always invading communities.

"This is a very active volcano," Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at Concord University's Department of Physical Sciences, said in an interview. "This is constantly happening."

The eruption began at around 4:45 p.m. in Hawaii, and a second fissure may have opened up in the middle of the night. But it's unknown what will happen next.

"It's impossible to say exactly where or when it will erupt now," said Krippner. "There are different pathways the lava can take to get to the surface."

Residents, however, had good forewarning of a potential eruption. Local volcanologists had been measuring increased earthquake activity in the region, a sign that molten rock was swelling beneath the ground. Locals found cracks in roads, and last week lava overflowed from the giant lava pit in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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But Hawaiian volcanoes, known as shield volcanoes, are the type that form land -- not destroy it. The magma is considerably less thick than the magma brewing beneath explosive volcanoes, like Mount St. Helens or the infamous Mount Vesuvius. These explosive volcanoes trap heat and pressure, sometimes resulting in powerful, deadly bursts. Conversely, Hawaiian volcanoes, when active, flow constantly, cool, and form land.

In fact, 90 percent of the rock surface on Kilauea is less than 1,000 years old, said Krippner, referencing how new lava flows are consistently covering the land. The volcano is in a building phase, and we happen to be building on top of it.

Although Hawaiian volcanoes rarely have large, explosive events, they certainly do produce some hazards -- though they're rarely life-threatening.

"This is one of the less dangerous types of eruptions," said Krippner. "With these lava flows you can escape relatively easily."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But lava can still cover roads and gradually invade neighborhoods, as was seen in the recent 2014 eruption event. The volcano also emits a lot of sulfur dioxide, which can be especially hazardous to people who have respiratory problems. Prior to the actual eruptions, quaking can also cause land to deform and collapse -- perhaps the greatest threat of all.

The Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes is called Pele, and as residents know well, Pele regularly comes awake in this region.

"Pele does her thing every now again," said Krippner. "This is what she does."