Hawaiians have been told to “prepare to evacuate” amid growing fears a volcano which forms the state’s largest island could be about to erupt.
Authorities have closed 16,000 acres of national park and begun identifying shelters after hundreds of earthquakes heightened concerns that lava and molten rocks could spew out of Kilauea volcano.
Geologists warned a continued increase in seismic activity following the collapse of a crater floor on Monday suggested eruption could be imminent.
The collapse at Pu’u O’o, an open vent below Kilauea’s summit crater and lava lake, triggered a series of earthquakes and pushed magma into new underground chambers.
The lava has moved down the east slope of the volcano and into the Big Island’s Puna district.
The US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) said the underground magma may have already gone beneath Highway 130, a main road which leads to a popular viewing point, and was approaching homes.
“Should an eruption occur, residents along the east rift zone may have little warning,” said civil defence administrator Talmadge Magno. “Residents in that area should be prepared to evacuate.”
A school in the area has shut as a precaution and nearly 16,000 acres of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park have been closed to the public as state and federal officials make preparations for possible eruption.
“The preparations include the identification of shelters, mobilisation of police and other security personnel to ensure residents’ safety, and road crews to ensure access to evacuation routes,” the Big Island mayor’s office in a statement.
Smoke rises from the Pu’u ‘O’o crater on the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii (EPA)
Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency closed the area to visitors on Tuesday and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.
“Residents should heed all advice offered by Civil Defence and take the actions recommended by Civil Defence to prepare for a possible eruption,” said HVO geologist Janet Babb, adding she could not say when or where an eruption was most likely.
“An eruption is possible because magma is clearly moving through the east rift zone and it could come to the surface,” she said. “The possibility is definitely there, I can’t give you a probability.”
Similar activity has been recorded prior to previous eruptions in the area, Ms Babb added.
If magma breaks through the ground, lava fountains could shoot skyward and spread rock and other volcanic debris around the area.
“Typically when an eruption first starts it’s pretty vigorous,” said Ms Babb.
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Most of Kilauea’s previous activity has been not been explosive, but an eruption in 1924 shot ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky, killing one man.
In 1983 an eruption of Pu’u Oo resulted in lava fountains soaring over 1,500 feet high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried dozens of square miles of land and destroyed many homes.
In 2008, after a series of small earthquakes rattled the island, Kilauea’s summit crater opened and gushed lava and rock over 75 acres of the mountain, damaging a nearby viewing point.
Last week, the lava lake at the volcano’s summit rose and spilled over the crater edge, marking the largest lava inflation since it erupted in 2008. The latest activity at Pu’u O’o does not appear to have changed the summit lava lake.
In 2016, lava from Pu’u O’o crept down the east side of the volcano and reached the ocean for the first time in several years. The flow created new land along the shoreline, some of which later collapsed, opening a giant “firehose” lava stream.
(CNN) Hundreds of earthquakes in Hawaii are shaking the eastern side of the Big Island, and authorities are concerned that the Kilauea Volcano could erupt.
The US Geological Survey revised the magnitude of the most severe quake to a 5, from the 4.6 reported earlier. It hit at 10:30 a.m. local time on Thursday. Within half an hour, two more quakes came, registering at 2.5 and 2.7. There have been a total of six smaller earthquakes since the biggest one, the agency said.
County spokeswoman Janet Snyder said authorities have issued a mandatory evacuation order for a portion of Leilani Estates, a subdivision in the Puna District on Hawaii Island.
The frequency of the minor earthquakes decreased Thursday compared to the preceding days, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in a statement
However, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has indicated that a volcanic eruption was "possible but not imminent," the agency said.
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Lava flows into residential neighbourhoods after days of earthquakes that caused roads to crack
More than 1,000 people have been ordered to evacuate on Hawaii’s Big Island after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano led to lava flows into residential areas.
Steam and lava has poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa, with all of its population of 1,500 told to leave.
Lava spurted into the sky from the road and aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest.
Resident Ikaika Marzo told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that lava spread out over an area about 200 yards (182 metres) wide behind one house in Leilani Estates on Thursday. He said it sounded like a jet engine.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lava in Leilani Estates. Photograph: HANDOUT/AFP/Getty Images
It comes after a week of residents being warned that they should prepare to evacuate, with officials saying an eruption would give little warning. Nearby community centres have opened for shelter.
Earlier in the week, a school in the Puna district was closed due to seismic activity and several roads cracked under the strain of the constant temblors.
Since Monday, hundreds of earthquakes – most of them about 2.0 magnitude – have been recorded in the area. The Puu Oo, which is a volcanic cone in the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea Volcano, began to collapse on Monday, triggering earthquakes and pushing the lava into newly created underground chambers.
Officials said it was impossible to predict how long the eruption would last.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest An ash plume rises above the Kilauea volcano. Photograph: Kevan Kamibayashi/AFP/Getty Images
Jeremiah Osuna, who captured drone footage of the lava stream, told Honolulu television station KOHN that the sound was overwhelming, as if someone “put a bunch of rocks into a dryer”.
He said he could smell the sulphur, along with the burning trees and other vegetation.
The US Geological Survey said fresh cracks in the ground were reported on Thursday afternoon. Hot vapour emerged from a crack and spattering lava began to erupt.
Geologist Janet Babb said the magma crossed under Highway 130, which leads to a popular volcano access point, on Tuesday night. Hawaii County civil defence agency closed the area to visitors and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lava spurts from the ground as emergency vehicles attend the scene in this image taken from video obtained from social media. Photograph: Maija Stenbeck/via Reuters
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It is located in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has closed off nearly 15,700 acres due to “the possibility of a new eruption and unstable geologic activity”.
Most of Kilauea’s activity has been non-explosive, but an eruption in 1924 spewed ash and nine tonnes of rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.
Puu Oo’s 1983 eruption resulted in lava fountains soaring over 1,500ft high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried dozens of square miles of land and destroyed many homes.
After more than 50 earthquakes were recorded on Wednesday morning alone, fears are growing that a life-threatening eruption could be imminent. A magnitude 4.2 earthquake in the Puna district, which shook the coast on Tuesday morning, has increased concerns over safety over thousands of residents living in the area. Janet Babb, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist, said residents in the area should remain vigilant because "lava could break to the surface, and it could do so fairly quickly.” She added that if an eruption did occur, it could be “pretty vigorous.”
The volcano sits to the southwest if of Kilauea, known as the Big Island, and is within a national park which is a popular with tourists and locals alike. Tourists, tour companies and residents of the island are now being warned to avoid the area. Magma has reportedly started to flow below Highway 130, a major road on the island that leads to the national park. Kilauea’s mayor office has released a statement saying that government is preparing for a possible eruption, which could involve the evacuation of residents.
Getty Hawaii volcano eruption: Kilauea has erupted almost continuously since 1983
The USGS is currently ranking the volcano as colour code orange, meaning the threat potential is ‘very high’. Follow our live updates of the volcanic activity here When was the last time Kilauea erupted? While this latest eruption is causing concern, the truth is that Kilauea has erupted almost continuously since 1983 at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō and other vents along the volcano's East Rift Zone. The volcano, whose name means ’spewing’ in the Hawaiian language, has historical records of activity dating back to around 1820.
EPA Hawaii volcano: fears are growing that a life-threatening eruption could be imminent.
EPA Hawaii volcano eruption: The USGS is currently ranking the volcano threat as 'very high'
