HAWAII — A red alert warning was issued for Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano on Tuesday.
The warning from the USGS means that ‘a major volcano eruption is imminent, underway or suspected with hazardous conditions both on the ground and in the air.’
As of early this morning, eruption of ash from the Overlook vent within Halemaumau crater at Kilauea Volcano’s summit has generally increased in intensity. Ash has been rising nearly continuously from the vent and drifting downwind to the southwest. Ashfall and vog (volcanic air pollution) has been reported in Pahala, about 18 miles downwind. NWS radar and pilot reports indicate the top of the ash cloud is as high as 10,000 to 12,000 feet above sea level, but this may be expected to vary depending on the vigor of activity and wind conditions.
Ash emission from the Kilauea summit vent will likely be variable with periods of increased and decreased intensity depending on the occurrence of rockfalls into the vent and other changes within the vent.
At any time, activity may become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent.
This was an automatic post that sometimes gets pushed out ahead of the website updating. We can confirm that it is a change from Orange/Warning to Red/Warning
— USGS Volcanoes???? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 15, 2018
Summary of #HVO #Kilauea VAN/VONA: Ash eruption at summit has increased in intensity. NWS radar & pilot reports show top of the ash cloud is as high as 10,000-12,000 feet above sea level. Ashfall and vog has been reported in Pahala (18 mi downwind). #KilaueaErupts pic.twitter.com/ChzRdu0Ch7
— USGS Volcanoes???? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 15, 2018
At Kīlauea’s summit, occasional rockfalls into the deep vent produce intermittent pulses of vigorous ash emissions. https://t.co/O6vwp9vC9B pic.twitter.com/mR3qJw4RuN
— USGS Volcanoes???? (@USGSVolcanoes) May 15, 2018
In early May 2018, hundreds of small earthquakes were detected on Kīlauea’s East rift zone, leading officials to issue evacuation warnings. On May 3, 2018, the volcano erupted in lower Puna after a 5.0 earthquake earlier in the day, causing evacuations of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions.
A seemingly related 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred on May 4. By May 9, 27 houses had been destroyed in Leilani Estates.
No deaths have been reported.
