5:03 PM: No Tsunami From Collapse/Explosion Event

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.

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5:03 p.m. No Tsunami From Collapse/Explosion Event

The Hawaii Volcano Observatory reports that a collapse/explosion event at the Kilauea summit occurred at approximately 5:03 p.m. The energy released from the event is equivalent to a magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale and did NOT cause a tsunami. The event resulted in a small plume made of mostly steam and little ash.

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

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports that the event did NOT cause a tsunami.

4 p.m.: 657 Homes Destroyed So Far

Map as of 2 p.m., June 25, 2018.

Click to enlarge

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.

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 warnings from Civil Defense.

Early morning view of the open lava channel during helicopter overflight of the lower East Rift Zone. USGS Photo. Click to enlarge.

On the eruption, the following is provided for your information:

• Total homes destroyed is 657.
• Area that has been covered by lava is 6,164 acres.

To report your home or property damaged or destroyed, please 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, please call Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.

View of the fissure 8 cone and fountain from the end of Luana Street in Leilani Estates. Photo taken at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, June 25, 2018.

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 will resume running between the two shelters and the Disaster Recovery Center between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m..
• 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 Pahoa High School Cafeteria will be held tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Monday, June 25, 2018, 1 p.m.:

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 side of the flow front primarily through the open channel, but also along a 0.6 miles wide area marked by billowing laze plumes. Fissure 22 is weakly active and Fissure 16/18 was not observed this morning.

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 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 Volcano Summit

At 4:12 p.m. on June 24, after approximately 17 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 less than 2000 ft 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 25-35 earthquakes per hour (many in the magnitude 2-3 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 30 earthquakes per hour by daybreak (June 25). Inward slumping of the rim and walls of Halemaʻumaʻu continues in response to ongoing subsidence at the summit.

At Fissure 8, fountains provide a vigorous supply of lava that exits the cinder cone and drops over a spillway to enter a well-established lava channel that extends to the sea. June 24, 2018. PC: USGS HVO

Monday, June 25, 2018, 6 a.m.

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

Currently, there is no immediate threat, but persons near the active flow should be prepared and heed warnings from Civil Defense.

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

Geologists continue to check ground cracks in area for changes, June 24, 2018. USGS field crews track activity in and around Leilani Estates in Kīlauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone. Observations are also collected on a daily basis from cracks in the area of Highway 130, shown here (no changes in temperature, crack width, or gas emissions have been noted recently).

Disaster assistance is available island-wide to individuals and businesses in Hawai‘i County that have been affected by the Kīlauea eruption. The Disaster Recovery Center at the Keaau High School Gym is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tropic Care 2018 will provide free medical, dental and eye care today, June 25, through Thursday, June 28, at Kea‘au High School between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tropic Care is open to everyone, regardless of whether or not they are affected by the disaster.

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

Panorama of Lower East Rift Zone from Lower East Rift Zone [PGcam], June 25, 2018, 10:20 a.m. PC: USGS HVO

Sunday, June 24, 8:35 p.m.: HVO/USGS Kīlauea Volcanic Activity Notice

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

Kīlauea Volcano Summit

Episodic collapse of Kīlauea Volcano’s caldera floor continues, at times accompanied by bursts of small amounts of volcanic ash. The most recent of these occurred today at 4:12 pm.

Since late May, these collapse/explosion events have rarely produced significant ash plumes rising more than 10,000 feet above sea level where they can pose a significant hazard to aviation. For this reason, HVO is reducing the aviation color code from RED to ORANGE.

Aerial view of lava fountain at Fissure 8 and uppermost lava channel during an early morning overflight of the lava flow field. June 24, 2018. PC USGS HVO

Collapse/explosion events that may produce ash plumes are expected to continue as long as subsidence is occurring at the volcano’s summit. At any time, activity could intensify producing more ash and higher ash plumes. During these events, ash may be transported downwind to impact communities.

For forecasts of where ash would fall under forecast wind conditions, 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).

Sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano’s summit have dropped to levels below those measured during the high stand of the summit lava lake. Air quality in the summit area is, however, impacted by emissions from the Lower East Rift Zone. Information on sulfur dioxide and vog impacts and how to protect yourself from vog may be found here.

Kīlauea Volcano Lower East Rift Zone

Click to enlarge,

Eruption of lava and gas from the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) continues into its seventh week. The eruption remains hazardous and therefore HVO is maintaining alert level WARNING.

The Fissure 8 cone continues to feed a lava flow reaching the ocean at the Kapoho area coastline. Short-lived overflows of lava from an established channel occur periodically but generally do not travel beyond the existing flow field.

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.

Lava is entering the sea on the southern side of the entry area primarily through the open channel, but also along a .6-mile-wide area on June 24, 2018. The entry areas are marked by billowing laze plumes. The interaction of lava with the ocean creates laze. The effects of laze dissipate with distance.

Volcanic gas emissions remain very high in the Lower East Rift Zone. Shifting wind conditions can bring VOG to nearly all of the Island of Hawaii. VOG information can be found here.

The ocean entry is a hazardous area. Interaction between lava and ocean water can produce sudden explosions of dangerous debris and steam. The growing lava delta is unstable and can slide into the sea without warning. Additionally, the interaction of lava with the ocean creates a towering plume of “laze,” a corrosive seawater plume laden with hydrochloric acid and fine volcanic particles that can irritate the skin, eyes and lungs.

View to the southwest, looking “up” the lava channel on June 24, 2018. Lava flows from Fissure 8 (not pictured) through the open channel about 8 miles to the ocean. Lava remains incandescent (glowing orange) along the entire length of the channel with sections of cooled lava (black) on the surface. The dark areas in the lower portion of the image are parts of the early lava flow from Fissure 8 before the relatively narrow channel developed. PC: USGS HVO

Additional ground cracking and outbreaks of lava in the area of the active fissures are possible. Residents downslope of the region of fissure vents should remain informed and heed all Hawai‘i County Civil Defense messages and warnings