Hawaii Civil Defense: Volcano threatening 8000

NATGEF
NATGEF
Avatar of Linda Hohnholz
Written by Linda Hohnholz

Close to the tourism hotspot in the US Island State of Hawaii, tourists and more so locals are concerned about the development of the lava flow from the latest Kilauea volcano eruption.

Close to the tourism hotspot in the US Island State of Hawaii, tourists and more so locals are concerned about the development of the lava flow from the latest Kilauea volcano eruption.

Lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is threatening a main highway on the Big Island of Hawaii, with the flow threatening to isolate about 8,500 people โ€” many of whom rely on the highway to reach their jobs. Everyone wants to know when the lava will halt its advance.

Lava from Kilauea usually flows south, toward the ocean, so it was startling when on June 27 a newly-opened fissure started sending lava in the opposite direction, toward the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision.

Hawaii Civil Defense issued the following update:

his report on the status of Kilauea volcanic activity, in addition to maps, photos, and Webcam images (available at http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php), was prepared by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). All times are Hawai`i Standard Time.

KILAUEA VOLCANO (VNUM #332010)
19ยฐ25’16” N 155ยฐ17’13” W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary: Kฤซlauea continued to erupt at its summit and within the East Rift Zone, and gas emissions remained elevated. Slight deflation occurred over the past day, with minor fluctuations in lava level. At the middle East Rift Zone, the front of the June 27th flow is advancing through forest in Kaohe Homesteads, and surface breakouts are also present closer to Puสปu สปลŒสปล.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: The June 27th lava flow remains active. An HVO overflight yesterday afternoon confirmed that the flow front has entered the northwest portion of Kaohe Homesteads. The flow was moving through a vacant, forested portion of the subdivision. The flow front had advanced at an average rate of 215 m/day (705 ft/day) between Sep 12 and 15, which is slightly lower than the rate between Sep 10 and 12 (which was 250 m/day, or 820 ft/day). The flow front yesterday afternoon was 15.5 km (9.6 miles) from the vent, measured in a straight line. The actual length of the flow, measured along the lava tube axis (so that bends in the flow are considered) was 17.7 km (11.0 miles). The flow front yesterday afternoon was 3.3 km (2.1 miles) upslope from Apa`a Road. The flow front is still in thick forest, creating smoke plumes as it engulfs trees and other vegetation, but fires are not spreading away from the flow.

A Civil Defense overflight this morning showed continued slow advancement of the flow front in a northeast direction, with continued burning of vegetation.

Small breakouts also remain active closer to Puสปu สปลŒสปล, roughly midway along the length of the June 27th flow. None of these breakouts have been very vigorous recently, but are also producing smoke plumes as they creep into the adjacent forest.

Puสปu สปลŒสปล Observations: There was slight deflationary tilt at Puสปu สปลŒสปล over the past day, and gradual deflationary tilt has been recorded for more than a week. Glow was visible overnight above several outgassing openings in the crater floor. Aerial views yesterday found a small lava pond in the south pit. The northeast pit, which has hosted a lava pond for several months, was crusted over with only a small incandescent opening and minor spattering. The most recent sulfur-dioxide emission-rate measurement for the East Rift Zone was 400 tonnes per day (from all sources) on September 2, 2014.

Summit Observations: Slight deflationary tilt began yesterday morning at Kฤซlauea’s summit, ending nearly a week of gradual inflationary tilt. The lava lake level fluctuated with spattering and was roughly 50 m (164 ft) below the Overlook crater rim. There was no major change in seismicity on Kilauea over the past day; seismic tremor at the summit remained low and varied with changes in spattering on the surface of the lava lake. GPS receivers spanning the summit caldera recorded about 5 cm (2 in) of extension between early May and early July. Since then, GPS line length has tracked changes in ground tilt. During the week ending on September 9, 2014, the elevated summit sulfur-dioxide emission rate was measured at 3,300โ€“7,600 tonnes/day (see caveat below), and a tiny amount of particulate material was carried aloft by the plume.

Devin Powell form National Geographic may have some more answers.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...