#2018 kilauea eruption

Volcano scientists from around the world will gather from Feb. 9-14 in Hilo for the American Geophysical Union Chapman Conference on Caldera-forming Eruptions at Basaltic Volcanoes: Insights and Puzzles from Kīlauea 2018 and Beyond.

Dredging at Wailoa became a critical concern for Hawai‘i Island boaters after the Pohoiki boat ramp was surrounded and cut off by lava during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano.

The Hawai‘i County Council on Wednesday adopted Resolution 487, which grants $65,000 to the Pāhoa Lava Zone Museum for the purchase, installation and maintenance of 25 new surveillance systems, each consisting of 8 cameras, meant to enhance public safety in the Big Island community.

A new eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula began on Jan. 14, threatening the small fishing village of Grindavik.

Grants ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 for an 18-month period were awarded to 10 organizations.

This week’s “Volcano Watch” article focuses on the installation process of newly upgraded seismometers that are used to detect and locate earthquakes.

In the second round of grant awards through the Kīlauea Recovery Program, 15 out of the 38 applicants were informed last week that their projects were recommended for funding, but that the grant award would be less than the original request.

The people living in Puna and Hawai’i County understand the risk. Knowing they aren’t in control and can’t stop nature from happening is the first step to becoming resilient in the face of future volcanic eruptions on the Big Island.

Puna residents in lava zones 1 and 2 on the Big Island are now left with just one alternative for homeowners insurance since Universal Property and Casualty decided to get out of the Hawaiʻi market, and costs are skyrocketing.

When asked what Puna’s ocean access priorities were following the 2018 Kīlauea eruption, pollsters said it will take more than one solution to address the issue.

With the release of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s draft assessment report of the lava-impacted areas, work to restore roads, waterlines and park facilities will begin mostly likely 2024.

Five years after the lava from the 2018 Kīlauea eruption destroyed 32.3 miles of roads, most have not been repaired. But there is hope, with federal funds ready for restoring public roads and grant money going to nonprofits to help restore private roads.

The Puna Road and Waterline Draft Environmental Assessment — for areas inundated by lava during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption — is complete and now available for public review.

While the business district of Pāhoa came dangerously close to being devoured by lave during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption, it was spared. But the town and its people were left reeling. Five residents talk about life then and now.

Recovery efforts have been frustratingly slow on all fronts during the nearly five years since the catastrophic Kīlauea eruption ended in September 2018, leaving a big wake of destruction. But work and property buyouts continue five years later.

Since that 2018 activity, Kīlauea has experienced nearly constant change with distinct episodes of calm, unrest, eruptions and everything in between.

The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation is proposing dredging and excavating most of the volcanic debris from the 2018 Kilauea eruption that landlocked the boat ramp, severely curtailing fishing, emergency services and other commercial, recreational and food subsistence activities that previously relied on ocean access there.

The state is hosting an online public meeting Wednesday to discuss the draft environmental assessment for the project that would reopen ocean access at the boat ramp in Puna.

Five years ago, volcanic activity at Kīlauea on the Big Island dramatically changed when magma intruded into the lower East Rift Zone. What happened at Kīlauea in 2018?

The collaborative Kīlauea Seismic Imaging Project is about to start with a goal to help reveal subsurface structures beneath Kīlauea’s summit region.