10:40 PM: 5.4-M Seismic Event, No Tsunami Alert

This news story will be updated throughout the day as new information becomes available and new articles will be added to the website’s “News” section. Previous information about ongoing events can be found in Big Island Now’s “Volcano Blog” section.

KĪLAUEA SUMMIT LIVESTREAM LINK

CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE LAVA MAP FOR JUNE 26, 2018

The spatter cone at Fissure 8 is now about 180 feet tall. Lava fountains rise only occasionally above that point, sending a shower of tephra (cooled lava fragments) over the rim. June 24, 2018. PC: USGS HVO

Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 10:40 p.m.: 5.4-Magnitude Seismic Event, No Tsunami Alert

A seismic event occurred near the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The event is likely associated with a summit eruption.

Preliminary parameters:

ORIGIN TIME – 1041 PM HST 26 JUN 2018
COORDINATES – 19.4 NORTH 155.3 WEST
LOCATION – IN THE SUMMIT REGION OF KILAUEA VOLCANO
MAGNITUDE – 5.4

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NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that an explosive eruption at Kilauea summit has occurred at 10:39 p.m.. The resulting ash plume may affect the surrounding areas. The wind may carry the ash plume to the southwest toward Wood Valley, Pahala and Ocean View.

• The danger from this eruption is ash fallout. The major response is to protect yourself from fallout.
• If you are at home, stay indoors with the windows closed. Turn on your radio and listen for updates from authorities.
• If you are in your car, keep the windows closed. Ash fallout may cause poor driving conditions, due to limited visibility and slippery driving conditions. Drive with extreme caution, or pull over and park.
• After the hazard has passed, do check your home, and especially your catchment system for any impact that may affect your water quality.

5 p.m.: 

A Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS) mission on June 24, 2018, filmed details of the dramatic changes occurring within Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea’s summit since explosive eruptions of ash and gas and ongoing wall collapse began in mid-May. Clearly visible are the steep crater walls that continue to slump inward and downward with ongoing subsidence at Kīlauea’s summit. The deepest part of Halema‘uma‘u is now over 1300 feet below the caldera floor.

There are two obvious flat surfaces within the crater that have slumped downward as nearly intact blocks – the shallower one is the former caldera floor and the deeper one is the former Halema‘uma‘u crater floor. Limited UAS flights into this hazardous area are conducted with permission and coordination with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The overflights collect visual information on what is happening at this rapidly changing eruption site. Scientists examine the footage in detail to understand how the expanding collapse area is evolving, the extent of tephra fall, and other surface changes. This information is used to assess hazards at Kīlauea’s summit , which are shared with the National Park Service and emergency managers. Video by the U.S. Geological Survey and Office of Aviation Services, Department of the Interior, with support from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Fissure 8 continues to be very active and is feeding a lava channel to the ocean at Kapoho. The flow is expanding south along the shoreline. Gas emissions from the fissure eruption and laze at the ocean entry continue to be very high. Currently, there is no immediate threat, but persons near the active flow should be prepared and heed warnings from Civil Defense.

Due to frequent earthquakes, residents in the Volcano area are advised to monitor utility connections of gas, electricity, and water after earthquakes.

Disaster assistance is available island-wide to individuals and businesses in Hawai‘i County that have been affected by the Kīlauea eruption.

• You can register for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (also referred to as FEMA) in-person by visiting the Disaster Recovery Center, by calling (800) 621-3362 (FEMA), or online at disasterassistance.gov
• The Disaster Recovery Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and is located at the Kea‘au High School Gym. If you need a ride, buses run between the two shelters and the Disaster Recovery Center.
• The Disaster Recovery Center is staffed with representatives from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and State and County agencies.
• For more resources on disaster recovery, please visit the county website. (http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/lava-related/)

A community meeting at the Pāhoa High School Cafeteria will be held tonight at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 11 a.m.

A collapse explosion event at the Halemaumau Crater occurred yesterday afternoon around 5. p.m.

Residents in the Volcano area are advised to monitor utility connections of gas, electricity and water after earthquakes.

Gas emissions from the fissure eruption and at the ocean entry laze plumes continue to be very high.

Currently, there is no immediate threat, but persons near the active flow should be prepared and heed Hawai‘i County Civil Defense messages and warnings.

If you have not already reported your property damaged, destroyed or inaccessible, visit the Disaster Recovery Center located at Kea‘au High School.

The DRC is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Representatives from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, state and county agencies, and nonprofit organizations are available to provide disaster assistance.

A community meeting at the Pāhoa High School Cafeteria will be held today at 5 p.m.

9:13 a.m. (posted at noon) USGS HVO UPDATE

Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Kīlauea Volcano Lower East Rift Zone

The eruption in the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) continues with no significant change during the past 24 hours.

Fountains from Fissure 8 spatter cone continue to supply lava to the open channel with only small, short-lived overflows. The spatter cone is now 180 feet tall at its highest point, and fountains only occasionally rise above that point. The lava flow front at the coast broadened southward and is now nearly 2 miles in width. Lava is entering the sea this morning on the southern portion of the flow front primarily through the open channel, but also along a 0.6 miles wide area with multiple laze plumes from smaller oozing lobes.

Morning overflight of Lower East Rift Zone shows a stable channel and active ocean entry. Left: Lava within the braided portion of the Fissure 8 channel is flowing within its banks. View looking downstream toward the sunrise over the ocean entry. Right: Southward facing view of the point at which the Fissure 8 lava channel bifurcates.

Fissure 22 showed weak spattering and tiny flows around the base of the cone. This morning’s overflight crew also observed minor incandescence at Fissure 16/18.

Pele’s Hair and other lightweight volcanic glass fragments from the lava fountain at Fissure 8 continue to fall downwind of the fissure, dusting the ground within a few hundred meters (yards) of the vent. High winds may waft lighter particles to greater distances. Residents are urged to minimize exposure to these volcanic particles, which can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash.

Kīlauea Lower East Rift Zone lava flows and fissures, June 26, 10 a.m.: Given the dynamic nature of Kīlauea’s Lower East Rift Zone eruption, with changing vent locations, fissures starting and stopping, and varying rates of lava effusion, map details shown here are accurate as of the date/time noted. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960 and 2014-2015. Click on map to enlarge it. USGS HVO

HVO field crews are on site tracking the fountains, lava flows, and spattering from Fissure 8 as conditions allow and are reporting information to Hawai‘i County Civil Defense.

Observations are also collected on a daily basis from cracks in the area of Highway 130; no changes in temperature, crack width, or gas emissions have been noted for several days.

Volcanic gas emissions remain very high from Fissure 8 eruptions. Continuing trade wind conditions are expected to bring VOG to the southern and western parts of the Island of Hawaii. VOG information can be found here.

Lava from fissure 8 is entering the sea this morning on the southern portion of the flow front primarily through the open channel, but also along this 0.6 mile-wide area with multiple laze plumes from smaller oozing lobes. PC: USGS

The ocean entry is a hazardous area. Venturing too close to an ocean entry on land or the ocean exposes you to flying debris from sudden explosive interaction between lava and water. Also, the lava delta is unstable because it is built on unconsolidated lava fragments and sand. This loose material can easily be eroded away by surf, causing the new land to become unsupported and slide into the sea. Additionally, the interaction of lava with the ocean creates “laze,” a corrosive seawater plume laden with hydrochloric acid and fine volcanic particles that can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs.

North facing view of the 0.6 mile-long ocean entry with multiple lobes of lava flowing into the sea. PC: USGS

Magma continues to be supplied to the Lower East Rift Zone. Seismicity remains relatively low in the area with numerous small magnitude earthquakes and low amplitude background tremor. Higher amplitude tremor is occasionally being recorded on seismic stations close to the ocean entry.

Additional ground cracking and outbreaks of lava in the area of the active fissures are possible. Residents downslope of the region of fissures should heed all Hawaii County Civil Defense messages and warnings.

Kīlauea Volcano Summit

At 5:03 p.m. on June 25, after approximately 21 hours of elevated seismicity, a collapse explosion occurred at the summit producing an ash-poor steam plume that went undetected by the weather radar. Visual observations suggested the plume rose about 700 feet above the caldera before drifting downwind to the southwest. The energy released by the event was equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. Seismicity dropped abruptly from a high of 25 to 35 earthquakes per hour (many in the magnitude in the 3 range) prior to the collapse explosion down to less than 10 per hour afterwards. Within 3 hours seismicity began to creep up again averaging about 40 earthquakes per hour at the time of this posting. Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halemaʻumaʻu continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit.

Remobilized volcanic ash plume rises from Ka‘ū Desert: Recent explosive events haven’t produced significant ash plumes from the summit, but downwind communities may still experience ashfall when previously erupted ash is remobilized. On authorized permission from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, the USGS Unmanned Aircraft Systems crew is conducting gas measurements at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. They snapped this photograph from Chain of Craters Road—a plume of remobilized ash is clearly visible along the horizon. It is rising from the Ka‘ū Desert and blowing to the southwest. PC: USGS

Sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano’s summit have dropped to levels that are about half those measured prior to the onset of the current episode of eruptive activity. This gas and minor amounts of ash are being transported downwind, with small bursts of ash and gas accompanying intermittent explosive activity.

For forecasts of where ash would fall under forecast wind conditions, please consult the Ash3D model output here.

Information on volcanic ash hazards and how to prepare for ash fall maybe found at http://www.ivhhn.org/information#ash (health impacts) OR https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanic_ash/ (other impacts).

6 a.m.: Gas Emissions Remain Very High

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Fissure 8 continues to erupt with a full lava channel flowing to the ocean at Kapoho.

Gas emissions from the fissure eruption and at the ocean entry laze plumes continue to be very high.

Currently, there is no immediate threat, but persons near the active flow should be prepared and heed Hawai‘i County Civil Defense messages and warnings.

To report your home or property damaged or destroyed, call the Hawai‘i Real Property Tax Office at (808) 961-8201. To report your home or property inaccessible due to lava isolation or mandatory evacuation, call Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.

A community meeting at the Pāhoa High School Cafeteria will be held today at 5 p.m.