Occasional bursts of volcanic ash have been spreading from the?Halemaumau crater?in Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, the National Weather Service in Hawaii reported.
The ash will likely fall over Highway 11 and Kau district, as winds move toward the southwest.
Richard Allred is visiting Hawaii from Alexandria, Virginia. He flew in a helicopter above the Leilani Estates fissures yesterday and captured these images.
The United States Geological Survey just shared a map of the volcanic activity — which includes a new lava flow.
“Note a new lava flow that was observed during this morning’s overflight west?of the active channels,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
However. the flow field “has not expanded significantly during the past day,” the USGS reports.
Hawaiian authorities said fissure eruptions picked up several days ago.
A USGS?Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist said they don’t know how long the eruptions will last.
“For now, it looks like?it’s going to continue. We take it day by day,” the scientist told residents on Tuesday.
James Webster, a geologist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, walked us through the science of a term we’ve been hearing a lot today: lava bombs.
The bombs are propelled through the air by “expanding gases,” he said.
Active?lava?flows continue to plague the area near Kilauea Volcano. A photo from the United States Geological Survey shows?lava blocking a road in the lower East Rift Zone
A lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is not posing an immediate threat to the?Puna Geothermal Venture?plant, the U.S. Geological Survey?said?Wednesday.?
The lava created a natural wall that blocked the flow from reaching the plant,?USGS scientist?Wendy?Stovall told reporters.
Active?lava?flows continue to plague the area near Kilauea Volcano. A photo from the United States Geological Survey shows?lava blocking a road in the lower East Rift Zone.
A lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is not posing an immediate threat to the?Puna Geothermal Venture?plant, the U.S. Geological Survey?said?Wednesday.?
The lava created a natural wall that blocked the flow from reaching the plant,?USGS scientist?Wendy?Stovall told reporters.
A widening in the rift zone also caused land south of the eruption to sink, she said. Because of that, the primary lava flow was moving south and away from the plant.
Puna Geothermal Venture, which is?able to supply up to 10 percent of the electricity on the Big Island, has been secured, with all of its 11 wells?successfully?capped, Mike Kaleikini, senior director of Hawaii?Affairs for?Ormat, the?plant’s owner.
PGV employees are monitoring the situation, he said.
Brett Carr took this video of a fissure eruption at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano early Wednesday.
Hawaiian authorities said fissure eruptions picked up several days ago.
A USGS?Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist said they don’t know how long the eruptions will last.
“For now, it looks like?it’s going to continue. We take it day by day,” the scientist told residents on Tuesday.
Several fissures, or cracks in the ground, are pumping out lava, as eruptions continue in Kilauea volcano’s lower east side, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said Wednesday.
The civil defense agency said county, state and federal officials are also monitoring the situation at the Puna Geothermal Venture property, the civil defense agency said.
Relentless lava flow has reached the plant, which produces electricity?by bringing steam up from underground wells?and funneling it to a turbine generator.
Officials are trying to prevent possible explosions or the release of toxic fumes by “quenching” most of the wells, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesman Thomas Travis said.
Quenching starts with filling underground wells with cold water. So far,?10 of the 11 wells at the geothermal plant?have been quenched, Hawaii County officials said.
Occasional bursts of volcanic ash have been spreading from the?Halemaumau crater?in Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, the National Weather Service in Hawaii reported.
The ash will likely fall over Highway 11 and Kau district, as winds move toward the southwest.
The weather service urged residents to avoid exposure to the ash, which can cause eye and respiratory issues.
CNN photojournalist Jordan Guzzardo has been operating what volcano watchers have dubbed CNN’s “Lava Cam” near the town of Pahoa since Tuesday morning.?
Here’s what Guzzardo says the last 36 hours have been like:
James Webster, a geologist with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, walked us through the science of a term we’ve been hearing a lot today: lava bombs.
The bombs are propelled through the air by “expanding gases,” he said.
Hawaii resident Tam Hunt’s neighbors’ home is falling into cracks in the earth caused by fissures that opened up due to volcanic eruptions.?
He shot this video of the scene:
The couple that lives in the home evacuated earlier this month.
Hawaii resident Tam Hunt shot these photos of his neighbors’ home falling into cracks in the earth caused by fissures that opened up due to volcanic eruptions.?
The couple that lives in the home in Puna evacuated earlier this month when the?Hawaii County Civil Defense ordered?a mandatory evacuation for?Leilani Estates, the subdivision where the house is located.?
“My other next door neighbors’ house falling into the same large crack in my backyard,” Hunt wrote on Facebook.
Here’s another angle of the house slipping into the crack:
Richard Allred is visiting Hawaii from Alexandria, Virginia. He flew in a helicopter above the Leilani Estates fissures yesterday and captured these images.
The United States Geological Survey shared a photo of the volcano eruption with striking blue flames peeking through the cracks of the street.
That’s the blue flame of methane gas, a byproduct of burning vegetation. The USGS explains it like this:
The United States Geological Survey just shared a map of the volcanic activity — which includes a new lava flow.
“Note a new lava flow that was observed during this morning’s overflight west?of the active channels,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
However. the flow field “has not expanded significantly during the past day,” the USGS reports.
Darryl Clinton was using a fire extinguisher and a garden hose to defend him home — and his neighbors’ — from the volcano when he was hit with a lava bomb.
A lava bomb is essentially a flying chunk of molten rock. The bombs have hit houses: Heaps of flaming rock shattered windows and destroyed a septic tank, setting it ablaze with a blue flame of burning methane gas.
Clinton was talking on his cell phone when a bowling ball-sized lava bomb hit him in the leg while he was on the porch.
So what is getting hit like?
“‘That didn’t just happen’ was my first thought,” he said Tuesday. “I knew it was real because of the pain.”
The fiery bomb snapped bones in his leg.
The Gemini Observatory’s Gemini North telescope monitors sky conditions above Hawaii. On Monday night into Tuesday morning, it captured the Kilaueu volcanic eruption.
The observatory explained it like this:
The United States Geological Survey posted this photo of the Kīlauea Volcano to its Facebook page:
“Eruption of lava and ground cracking continues in the area of Leilani Estates subdivision,” the agency wrote.
Hawaii?Gov. Ige and other officials spoke at a community meeting yesterday afternoon local time, telling residents of the big island that they are in this for the long haul.
Here are some other highlights from that meeting:
Hawaii Gov.?David Ige has signed an emergency proclamation?to reassess the tax value of property damaged by the volcanic eruption.
The proclamation comes as lava continues to spew from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island. Lava crossed Highway 137 and entered the Pacific Ocean.
US Geological Survey released this thermal map of the fissure system and lava flows from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano today.
The USGS says the map shows:?
Residents living near Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano not only have to worry about toxic air and magma, but they must now watch out for lava bombs.
The exploding volcano is sending large balls of searing lava into the sky. There’s no telling where these lava bombs will land.
Over the weekend, a man sitting on his porch was hit in the leg by a lava bomb, leaving him seriously hurt, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno. It’s the first serious injury reported since the volcano began erupting May 3.
Watch more:
You can watch lava spew from a fissure near Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano here.
Lava from the volcano has now reached the Pacific Ocean, forming a product called “laze.”
Laze forms when hot lava hits the ocean, and it can cause lung, eye and skin irritation.
Three Red Cross shelters are open for residents who have had to evacuate their homes in Kilauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone, American Red Cross Hawaii spokesperson Krislyn Yano told CNN.
The shelters received 293 people on Monday night, Yano said. None of the three facilities have reached maximum capacity, she said.
Some residents have set up tents outside the shelters, or have chosen to sleep in their vehicles, Yano said.
Fissure 6 reactivated overnight and has been erupting into the early morning hours Tuesday, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO).
Lava flows from this fissure are slowly moving toward the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) property, HVO says.
This is in addition to lava from Fissure 22, which crossed onto the power plant’s property Monday afternoon.
Fissure 6’s lava is flowing slowly toward PGV’s property, but HVO says there is no immediate threat to any of the underground wells at the plant.
Officials are closely monitoring the situation, according to HVO.
Officials with US Geological Survey flew a helicopter over Kīlauea Volcano’s Lower East Rift Zone to spotlight the spot where hot lava flows into sea water, which is producing that dangerous laze plume we previously warned about.
(In a notable understatement, the USGC crew says “videomaking is not easy under these conditions,” and they “appreciate your understanding and acceptance of video length and quality.”)
An explosive eruption occurred at Kilauea summit early Tuesday morning at approximately 3:45 a.m. local time, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.
The resulting ash cloud rose to 8,000 feet and drifted southwest, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Here’s how residents in the area were told to protect themselves from the falling ash:
The Kilauea volcano erupted at least twice this weekend – at one point launching a cloud of ash?up to 10,000 feet high.
“These eruptions caused a 5.0 magnitude and a 4.9 magnitude tremor at the summit,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.
“Additional explosive events that could produce minor amounts of ashfall downwind are possible at any time.”
Since Kilauea’s massive eruption May 3, Brink said, about 2,250 earthquakes have struck on or around Hawaii’s Big Island.
As the Earth keeps shaking, liquid fire keeps flowing.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that two lava flows are entering the Pacific Ocean, which has created a potentially deadly “laze?hazard.”
Access to the area is prohibited. Residents are being told to stay away from any ocean plume “since it can change direction without warning,” and the U.S. Coast Guard is enforcing a 300-meter “standoff zone.”
So what’s “laze”? Here’s how the USGS describes it:
If anyone comes in contact with the gas plume, it can cause skin and eye irritation, as well as breathing difficulties. It can also be deadly.
The USGS attributes two deaths to laze in back in 2000, when the badly burned bodies of two hikers were discovered near a lava entry point in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Both had died of pulmonary edema caused by the inhalation of steam.
“They unwisely accepted a risk by choosing to enter an area the National Park had closed because of known – and posted – eruption hazards,” USGS said.
A USGS Volcanoes airplane flew over a few of the fissures that are currently spattering lava in in Kīlauea Volcano’s Lower East Rift Zone.
The photos, which were shared on Facebook, show just how close some of the homes came to being swallowed by lava flows.
“Field crews are on site tracking the lava flows and spattering from multiple fissures as conditions allow,” the agency said.
CNN’s cameras are pointed right now toward the huge fountain of lava spewing from the volcano on Hawaii’s big island.
Here’s what it looks like behind the scenes.
Between the flowing lava and toxic gas that are forcing evacuations, the Kilauea eruption feels like a never-ending emergency for the people who live in the Puna district on?Hawaii’s big island.
Evacuated residents are allowed into the neighborhood to check on their homes for a period each day — 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. — conditions permitting. For some, it’s a chance to chart the lava’s progression and to see if any new fissures are opening in the ground near their homes.?
Lava from Fissure 22 near Kilauea Volcano crossed onto the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) property Monday afternoon, according to?Hawaii?County Civil Defense.
Officials have taken the first step in fending off potential explosions or release of toxic fumes by initiating a process called “quenching,” according to?Hawaii?Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Thomas Travis.
Quenching begins with filling underground wells with cold water.
“The weight of the cold water sitting in the long pipe is sufficient, that instead of water entering the bottom of the well, cold water exits the bottom of the well,”?Travis said.
Travis also said multiple proposals have been made to plug the wells, including filling them with mud, and capping them with iron plugs.?
PGV, located in the Kilauea East Rift Zone, is a geothermal energy conversion plant that generates electricity which is then sold to?Hawaii?Electric Light, according to the energy provider’s official website.