Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii's Big Island Followed by 4.4 earthquake (merged)

[jehb2]

Kilauea volcano erupts on Hawaii's Big Island

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit about an hour after the volcano began erupting.

www.kvue.com

 

[MULTIZ321]

Hawaii residents told to stay home as Kilauea volcano erupts.

Hawaii residents told to stay home as Kilauea volcano erupts

The Hawaii county Civil Defense Agency (COH) has asked residents to stay indoors after the Kilauea volcano erupted following a series of earthquakes.

www.cnn.com

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Richard

 

[Sandy VDH]

It has been quiet since the day after my last visit on 4th Aug 2018. While Kilauea had collapsed it had not erupted since.

But history will tell us that Pele will awaken again, and it appears she has.

 

[magmue]

And we were supposed to arrive in Waikoloa yesterday evening.

I'm feeling significantly more peaceful about our decision to postpone to March based on an abundance of caution about Covid risks in airports and first-leg flights.

 

[Sandy VDH]

And we were supposed to arrive in Waikoloa yesterday evening.

I'm feeling significantly more peaceful about our decision to postpone to March based on an abundance of caution about Covid risks in airports and first-leg flights.

It has not even left the crater since the crater is so deep now after the collapes. I doubt it might leave the crater anytime soon, unless a sudden surge in magma shows up, so the rest of the island is not in danger and generally is NOT. VOG might be the greatest issue on BI, at best.

HI's volcanoes are not the dangerous exploding type.

 

[DeniseM]

More Info:

No threat to public as Kilauea volcano eruption inside Halemaumau Crater stabilizes

Scientists are monitoring a new lava eruption of Kilauea volcano inside the Halemaumau Crater within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

www.staradvertiser.com

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

It has been quiet since the day after my last visit on 4th Aug 2018. While Kilauea had collapsed it had not erupted since.

But history will tell us that Pele will awaken again, and it appears she has.

What likely happened when the crater collapsed a couple of years ago.

The area under the volcano has a maze of passageways in which the magma moves as it heads to the surface. One set of passageways down the SE rift zone of the volcano, leading to the eruptions in that area. However there has been a restriction in those passageways, which limits the amount of magma that can go that direction. So the magma that can't get out that way rises in the center of the volcano to the summit, creating a reservoir magma at higher elevation than the eruption zones on the SE flank. Then, a couple of years ago something happened to enlarge the connection to the SE flank. This allowed the reservoir magma near the summer to escape to the SE, leading the disappearance of the lava lake at the summit simultaneous with a large outburst of eruptions on the SE flank.

The connection to the SE side now appears to have become restricted again, so that magma is once again rising to the summit.

 

[PrairieGirl]

I am here now and we drove up to the park today to see whatever there was to see. Only steam plumes, but still really cool to see! I will try to figure out how to post some of the pictures that we took. It actually looked more dramatic and foreboding from farther away.

The lava is so far down in the crater that you can’t see it from the edge. But the lake that was there even just yesterday was vaporized overnight by the lava! People visiting the park at night can apparently see a red glow in the steam.

It remains to be seen if this lava will build until there is some oozing from a side vent somewhere.

Off to figure out how to post pictures!

 

[PrairieGirl]

Right at the rim. If you tap a picture it makes it full screen. The video files were too large to upload.

 

[slip]

Right at the rim. If you tap a picture it makes it full screen. The video files were too large to upload.

Very cool, Mahalo for posting. I’ll get over there to see that sometime. I’ve been wanting to do that for years.

 

[JIMinNC]

This is a photo that was posted by the US Geological Survey Hawaii Volcano Observatory on their website. Shows the two fissures that are feeding the new lava lake in Halemaʻumaʻu.

 

[PrairieGirl]

The irony of all this is that we were also up at the park last Friday in a torrential downpour when the visibility was zip. So we even missed seeing the lake that is now gone. We had been planning our return trip for today anyway.

We had no idea that this eruption had even taken place until our phones started going nuts in the wee hours. It’s a 4 hour time difference and folks from home woke up to the news and were checking in to be sure that we were OK. A volcano erupting sounds very scary to those of us from the flatlands!

So we turn on the TV and see that everything is status quo at the park and get ourselves moving for an early morning trip. Not a huge crowd, drove up and in and easy parking. But by the time we left there was a line at the entrance gate.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Most mainlanders do not understand Hawaii volcano behavior.

I purposely went during the 2018 visit, because I have always wanted to see the volcano erupting. I have seen it ooze over my 10 visit to HI but I have never seen it erupt. Glad I got to see it.

This was as it was entering the ocean. It was a once in a lifetime trip. To see that much lava entering the ocean, all along about a 5 mile stretch of coast.

 

[HGVC Lover]

Most mainlanders do not understand Hawaii volcano behavior.

You are correct. This information might help others understand the nature of volcanoes on Hawaii ( Big Island ).

https://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-blog/hawaii-volcano-history/

When we lived there there were times when VOG was very bad and it would be in Kona for months at a time and can be a serious health risk. Sometimes you cannot see it but you can tell if it is around if you look at the horizon and it is hazy. It would be rare that the VOG would reach Waikoloa.

We think the best way to really see the volcanoes is to do a doors off helicopter tour from Hilo.....it will be memorable.

 

[djyamyam]

We think the best way to really see the volcanoes is to do a doors off helicopter tour from Hilo.....it will be memorable.

I totally second this suggestion. We did it 2 years ago when the volcano was super active with the lava firetube going into the ocean. Flying over the mouth of the crater, you could smell the sulfur and feel the heat of the lava. Definitely cool!

 

[JIMinNC]

I totally second this suggestion. We did it 2 years ago when the volcano was super active with the lava firetube going into the ocean. Flying over the mouth of the crater, you could smell the sulfur and feel the heat of the lava. Definitely cool!

I agree as well. Love the doors-off tours from Hilo. But one word of caution...depending on the type of activity and the location, there may be Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) over the activity. That is currently the case over the Kilauea summit as the attached screenshot from the aviation chart of the Big Island shows. Tour helicopters are not likely to be allowed over the summit right now.

 

[PrairieGirl]

Big change in visibility today. The VOG is here. Golfed at Makani and couldn’t really see the ocean vistas. Yesterday at Makalei they were a bit hazy, but still good.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I totally second this suggestion. We did it 2 years ago when the volcano was super active with the lava firetube going into the ocean. Flying over the mouth of the crater, you could smell the sulfur and feel the heat of the lava. Definitely cool!

We did a full island helicopter tour out of Kona in 2007. Here are some shots from the trip.

This is where the active eruption was occurring on the southeast flank, toward Puna.

Lava river with lavafall: