Quakes continue to rattle beneath Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone

Unrest beneath Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone continues with experts suspecting magma is slowly moving out of the summit storage region.

Over the past 24 hours, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports there were approximately 19 earthquakes detected beneath Kīlauea’s summit and approximately 384 earthquakes detected beneath the upper East Rift Zone, mostly at depths of 0.0–2.5 miles below sea level.

Most seismic events were smaller than magnitude-2, but there were 5 earthquakes magnitude-3 or higher in the upper East Rift Zone. The largest event was a magnitude-3.4.

While there continues to be activity, scientists say the intensity of that activity is lower than Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and lower Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Recent eruptive activity and ongoing unrest have been restricted to the summit and upper rift zone regions.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will continue to provide daily updates for Kīlauea volcano. Temporary closures have been implemented at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park as a result of this elevated activity.