LOS ANGELES: Mount Kilauea volcano has erupted near a residential area on Hawaii's largest island, prompting a local state of emergency and the mandatory evacuation of 1,700 local residents, reports BBC.

Extremely high levels of dangerous sulphur dioxide gas have been detected in the evacuation area, the Civil Defense Agency tweeted.

Community centres have been opened to provide shelter.

The eruption follows a series of strong earthquakes over recent days.

A volcanic crater vent - known as Puu Oo - collapsed earlier this week, sending lava down the mountain's slopes towards populated areas.

Officials had been warning residents all week they should be prepared to evacuate as an eruption would give little warning.

We live in Leilani Estates, about six blocks away from the eruption.

We were evacuated a couple of hours ago and we are now with friends. It's me, my daughter, her boyfriend, and their two children, who are six years old and 20 months old. We all got shoved in a car and off we went.