Hawaii Volcano Eruption Update – Friday Morning ~ June 8, 2018

News Alert: Hawaii volcano Lava fountains SURGE out Kilauea crater & destroyed at least 600 homes

1.48pm update: Salvation Army urges help for donations for the 2,500 displaced The Salvation Army has a distribution center in Pahoa and volunteers are needed to help sort and distribute items.

Donations of food and water should be directed to partner agencies like the Food Basket. Current donations requested for the distribution centre includes: Blankets Camping chairs Clothing Cots Thick outdoor garbage bags Flashlights Pillows Sleeping bags

12.30pm update: There is no end in sight for Kilauea eruption Scientists with the US Geological Survey say they don’t know when the volcanic activity will stop. Late Thursday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that fissure 8 “is very active and producing a large channelized flow that has filled in Kapoho Bay.”

HVO said the lava delta is 1.2 miles wide and added that “ocean entry is sending a large laze plume into the air along the coastline.”

11.18am update: Fiery twister captured in Hawaii An incredibly rare phenomenon has been captured on camera as strong winds whipped up a fiery twister, dubbed lavanado, over volcanic fissure eight in Leilani Estates.

Photographer Anthony Quintano said: “I was in a media escort provided by the Hawaii National Guard so we were in Leilani Estates the only legal way to view and cover the lava inside the area. “The fountain was shooting 200 feet in the air and it was roughly a half mile away from where we were standing.”

Volcanologist Dr Janine Crippler and meteorologist Sean Luchs dubbed the event a “volcanic fire whirl”. 10.31am update: Scientists learning important information from Kilauea eruption Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano may be disrupting life in Hawaii’s Big Island, with dramatic explosive eruptions and constant lava flows destroying towns and villages.

But the eruption is helping scientists advance what is already known about volcanoes as the glean new and important information about Kilauea’s crater. Volcanoes reveal secrets when they’re rumbling, which means Kilauea is producing a bonanza of information. And with new technology available, researchers can gather and study an unprecedented volume of data as Kilauea rumbles on. ”

Geophysical monitoring techniques that have come online in the last 20 years have now been deployed at Kilauea,” said George Bergantz, professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington. “We have this remarkable opportunity to see many more scales of behaviour both preceding and during this current volcanic crisis.”

9.04am update: An estimated 2,500 people have been displaced by the eruption Hundreds of homes have been destroyed in the Vacationland and Kapoho Bay areas of Big island after the lava flows spread. Most of the losses have occurred in the Leilani Estates area, where the toll of destruction has been steadily rising by the day. “So if you combine the three of them (Kapoho, Vacationland and Leilani), we’re talking about 600 homes,” Kim told reporters. “I’m talking about 600 families. Don’t forget the farmers, don’t forget the ranchers, don’t forget all the employees for them.”

Lava flows have also knocked out telephone and power lines, causing widespread communication outages. And the molten liquid has even forced the shutdown of a geothermal energy plant that provides about a quarter of the island’s electricity.

8.27am update: Amazing aerial footage shows lava fountains spewing out Kilauea Incredible aerial footage released by the United States Geological Survey shows lava bubbling out of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. In the video, taken from a helicopter around

6:30 a.m. Tuesday, a fountain of lava feeds into a red-hot river and travels northeast, where it eventually enters the Pacific Ocean through Kapoho Bay. Thick clouds of smoke surrounded the coast as a result of the lava, according to USGS. Before and after photos reveal a vast amount of land near Kapoho Bay now covered in lava.

8.20am update: Millions awarded in disaster relief to the state Governor David Ige took part in a visit to Hawaii County Civil Defense headquarters in Hilo, the island’s biggest city, yesterday. There, he signed a memorandum of understanding furnishing $12 million in immediate state disaster relief to the island.

Ige and Kim also announced formation of a task force of federal, state and local officials to devise a recovery plan for communities devastated by the eruption, with an eye toward preventing such major property losses in the future.

Latest Kilaeau Notes…May 31, 2018

Kīlauea Volcano Lower East Rift Zone Vigorous eruption of lava continues from the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) fissure system in the area of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens.

Fissure 8 continues to maintain eruptive fountains reaching 200-250 feet. Subsidiary fountains in the vicinity of Fissure 8 are also active although with much less vigor, seldom exceeding 60 feet in height. This fountaining continues to feed a lava flow that is moving north out of Leilani Estates and then northeast along Highway 132 into the area of Noni Farms road. Flow front advance has slowed to less than 50 yards per hour.

Video of fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone on May 30, 2018. Fountain heights exceeded 200 feet and secondary fountains reached heights of 60 feet. The second video looks down Kupono Street, just south of Leilani Street, in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where chilled rock from the fissure 8 fountain have fallen. (Public domain.)

By late afternoon, the front of the Fissure 18 flow was about 0.5 miles from Highway 137 and was spreading and slowing. In the late afternoon, a new flow lobe began branching from the south side of the fissure 18 flow approximately 1.5 miles upslope from the flow front. During the day, sporadic bursts of activity were also observed from Fissures 22, 6, and 13.

Low level spattering and intermittent fountaining from Fissure 21 were also observed in the late afternoon and early evening. Pele’s hair and and other lightweight volcanic glass from high fountaining of Fissure 8 are falling to the west of the fissure and accumulating on the ground within Leilani Estates.

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. The most recent map of lava flows can be found here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/…

HVO field crews are on site tracking the fountains, lava flows, and spattering from multiple fissures as conditions allow and reporting information to Hawaii County Civil Defense. Crews are also checking on the status of ground cracks on Highway 130. Aerial of lava flow Lava flow erupted from fissure 8, photographed during HVO’s early morning overflight today.

The lava channel was estimated to be about 100 feet wide. (Public domain.) Volcanic gas emissions remain very high from the fissure eruptions. Trade wind conditions are bringing vog to the south and west sides of the Island of Hawaii. Magma continues to be supplied to the lower East Rift Zone. Earthquake locations have not moved farther downrift in the past few days and the number of located earthquakes remains low.

Additional ground cracking and outbreaks of lava in the area of the active fissures are possible. Residents downslope of the region of fissures should heed all Hawaii County Civil Defense messages and warnings. Kīlauea Volcano Summit A UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) mission during this past week documented the widening of the Overlook vent.

Earthquakes in the Kīlauea Volcano’s summit region continue as the area subsides and adjusts to the withdrawal of magma. The vent is widening due to the collapse of the steep enclosing walls and rim. Large rockfalls from these areas have triggered explosive events that produce minor amounts of ashfall downwind.

The video surveys the southeast rim of the Overlook vent to the old Overlook parking lot, showing cracks in the rim and areas dusted with ash. Limited UAS flights into this hazardous area are conducted with permission and coordination with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The information is used to quantify change and informs our assessment of hazards, which is shared with the National Park Service and emergency managers. Footage is courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Aviation Services. USGS/DOI

Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Major Explosion Warning, As Lava Entered Ocean (TTM) ~ May 25, 2018

Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano Major Explosion Warning, As Lava Entered Ocean Blue flames burning in the lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano are raising new fears of explosions.

Emergency officials say if fissures open west of Pahoa, lava could block the one remaining open highway. If that happens, about 1,000 people would have to be helicoptered to safety, reports CBS News’ Mark Strassmann. Residents are also eyeing another disturbing development.

After three weeks of gawking at images of bright red lava bursting skyward, the Big Island’s focus has shifted to something blue and worrisome: blue flames that indicate the presence of methane gas. Methane gas is a result of the lava burning plants and trees. Scientists say it can trigger explosions if ignited while trapped underground. “It’s the first time, maybe the second time I’ve seen the blue flames thing. It’s very dramatic, very eerie,” geophysicist Jim Kauahikaua said.

For now, Kilauea seems to have spared a threatened geothermal power plant. But in communities like Leilani Estates, fountains of nearby lava threaten more homes and there are also spots where officials worry about widening cracks. ________________________________________________________________________________