Portion of Chain of Craters Road closed again as cracks widen with continued seismic activity under Kīlauea volcano

A portion of Chain of Craters Road inside Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is once again temporarily closed because of, you might have guessed, cracks in the surface.

The park reports cracks that formed July 21 between Hilina Pali Road intersection and the Maunaulu parking lot have widened because of continued seismic activity under Kīlauea volcano.

The park closed the roadway at the intersection of Crater Rim Drive East and Chain of Craters Road at the Devastation Trail parking area. The closure extends from their to the coast.

While no vehicles are allowed on that portion of the roadway, it is still open to bicycles and pedestrians.

Kulanaokuaiki Campground is accessible only by biking or walking in.

The park will continue to monitor Chain of Craters Road and plans to reopen it to vehicles only when it is safe to do so.

Visitors should plan ahead and check the park’s website for any closure or hazard alerts.

A heightened period of unrest began again earlier this week as earthquake activity increased in the upper East Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano, continuing into this morning albeit at a much lesser rate.

Activity peaked early Tuesday morning with about 200 quakes in a 24-hour period. As of 9:15 a.m. today, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded 65 earthquakes since about the same time Wednesday.

That’s a significant decrease in the number of temblors from yesterday to today compared to the 181 earthquakes recorded in the 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The quakes have been in an area extending from Puhimau Crater southeast to Maunaulu, with most smaller than magnitude 2. There was one event larger than magnitude 3 between Wednesday and today.

All of the earthquakes have been at depths between 0.6 to 1.8 miles beneath the surface.

Most also have been too small to feel, but several were reported felt in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and surrounding communities.

Earthquake activity in the upper East Rift has been accompanied by elevated rates and changing patterns of ground deformation, but deformation as of this morning was relatively level.

The unrest in this part of the volcano could represent another pulse of magma being supplied to the upper East Rift Zone following the intrusive event that occurred near Pauahi Crater from July 22-25.

Activity in the middle East Rift Zone remains low.

Earthquake locations are scattered around Makaopuhi crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with depths ranging from 0.6 to 1.9 miles beneath the surface and magnitudes les than 2.

There has been no significant change in deformation and GPS instruments continue to record inflation in the region.

The middle East Rift has not shown signs of increased unrest; however, magma recently re-established a path to that part of Kīlauea. Unrest could potentially extend to the that part of the East Rift Zone with continued magma supply.

There is no evidence of seismicity or ground deformation beneath the lower East Rift Zone at this time, and Southwest Rift Zone activity remains low.

Current activity is restricted to the summit and upper East Rift Zone region.

About 21 earthquakes were detected beneath Kaluapele, Kīlauea’s summit caldera, from Wednesday to today at depths of 0.6 to 1.9 miles beneath the surface, all with magnitudes of less than 2.

Rates of deformation at the summit remained relatively low with minor local deflation, likely in response to unrest in the upper East Rift Zone. An overall gradual inflationary trend continues to be seen on GPS instruments around the summit region.

Changes in the character and location of unrest can happen quickly, as can the potential for eruption, but there are no signs of imminent eruption at this time.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is closely watching the heightened activity closely and is in close contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Additional messages will be issued as needed.

A magnitude-4.7 earthquake also happened at 12:52 a.m. today 9 miles south of Fern Forest at a depth of 4 miles.

Most earthquakes in the region where this one happened are caused by abrupt motion of Kīlauea’s south flank, which moves to the southeast over the oceanic crust.

The earthquake had no apparent impact on Kīlauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes.