HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-01 Volcano Crater Floor Collapses, Possible Outbreak of Lava, Viewing Area Closed -- press release
Wil Okabe
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawai‘i
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street, Suite 2603 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 (808) 961-8211 Fax (808) 961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Hwy., Bldg C Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
(808) 323-4444 Fax (808) 323-4440
May 1, 2018
NEWS RELEASE
Volcano Crater Floor Collapses, Possible Outbreak of Lava, Viewing Area Closed
The collapse of the PuōŌʻu ʻʻ crater floor on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone has
triggered increases in earthquake activity and deformation along a large section of the
rift zone, according to Christina Neal, scientist-in-charge at Hawai'i Volcanoes
Observatory (HVO).
Neal said that seismicity was occurring as far east as Highway 130, and warned
residents of lower Puna to remain alert and watch for further information about the
status of the volcano at www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alert .
“An outbreak of lava in a new location is one possible outcome,” Neal said in statement.
At this time it is not possible to say with certainty if or where such an outbreak may
occur, but the area downrift (east) of Puō is the most likely location, as this is Ōʻu ʻʻ
where seismicity and deformation have been concentrated overnight.”
Meanwhile, the County has closed the Kalapana lava viewing area amid the possibility
of an eruption, and security has been posted to ensure than no unauthorized persons
enter the area.
“We don’t want people hiking in that area, which is downslope from the rift,” Parks and
Recreation Deputy Director Maurice Messina said.
Messina said that vendors at the viewing area were told to vacate the area. He noted
that the lava viewing area can draw 500 to more than 2,000 visitors, depending on the
level of volcanic activity.
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake just offshore of PuōŌʻu ʻʻ occurred at 2:39 Tuesday
morning, the largest of a sequence of tremors along the rift zone. There is no risk of
tsunami at that magnitude.
Deformation is the term used to describe change in the surface of a volcano, such as
swelling, sinking or cracking, which can be caused by movements in the earth’s crust
due to motion along faults, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
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