Free Republic

Kīlauea volcano has erupted with tall lava fountain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwGJtc0PHb0 Kilauea is currently erupting.

United States Geological Survey said that it started around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, and fountains of lava are now reaching up to 600 feet. [Video] HONOLULU (Hawaii News Now) -- Fountaining at Kilauea reached dramatic heights Tuesday evening. Episode 12 of Kilauea’s current eruption began at around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday with small, sluggish lava flows from the south vent. Two hours later, similar flows erupted from the north vent and both grew significantly throughout the day. The U.S. Geological Survey said as of 3:15 p.m. fountains reached heights of 600 feet with flows covering approximately a third of Halemaumau crater. Kilauea’s...

Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting Sunday after a two-month pause, displaying glowing lava that is a safe distance from people and structures in a national park on the Big Island.

WASHINGTON (TND) — Hawaii's second largest volcano -- Kilauea -- started erupting early Wednesday morning following a three-month pause, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, also known as USGS. "Klauea volcano IS erupting," USGS noted on Twitter, adding that the eruption started just before 4:45 a.m. HST. The agency shared video of "the west rim of the crater at approximately 6 a.m. HST. Telephoto view shows multiple active vent sources and lava flooding the crater floor" within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, which is located on Hawaii's Big Island. USGS said their Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) detected a glow in the...

HONOLULU -- One of the most active volcanos on Earth is erupting on Hawaii's Big Island. Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed Wednesday that an eruption has begun in Kilauea volcano's Halemaumau crater at the volcano's summit. Webcam footage of the crater showed lava fountains covering the floor of the crater and billowing clouds of volcanic gas were rising into the air. The same area has been home to a large lava lake at various times throughout the volcano's eruptive past....

Lava was rising more than 3 feet (1 meter) per hour in the deep crater of a Hawaii volcano that began erupting over the weekend after a two-year break, scientists said Tuesday. Kilauea volcano within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island was gushing molten rock from at least two vents inside its summit crater, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A lava lake has formed, rising about 440 feet (134 meters) from the bottom of the crater. Since the eruption began Sunday night, Kilauea has spewed some 2 billion gallons of lava (10 million cubic meters), enough to cover...

Around 9:30 p.m. HST - Officials report the start of the eruption at Halemaumau Crater.

A lake the size of five football fields growing in the belly of a volcano sounds fantastic, but the facts just keep getting stranger in the case of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. A study released this month by the U.S. Geological Survey has found the mysterious lake is one of the world’s hottest bodies of water. Its deadly waters range from 176 to 185 degrees, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. To put that in perspective, water at 154 degrees “instantaneously” scalds human skin, according to Hotwaterlab.com. “Globally, only a few volcanic lakes have surface temperatures greater than ... 176...

A man has been injured after he fell into the caldera of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, according to officials. The man fell from a 300-foot cliff after climbing over a permanent metal railing at the Steaming Bluff overlook to get closer to the edge, according to a press release from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. He was rescued by park rangers. (MORE: Satellite images show effects of Kilauea volcano's latest eruption on Hawaii's Big Island) Another visitor reported that the man had fallen around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Search-and-rescue crews found him alive but seriously injured on a narrow...

PAHOA, Hawaii -- Lava continues to blast from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, and it's cutting off escape routes for people trying to evacuate. The massive amount of lava in Leilani Estates is spreading fast. It has burst more than 25 stories high, and reaching temperatures of nearly 2,000 degrees. "The scientific aspect of this is fascinating but it's tempered hugely by the fact that this is a neighborhood and people have lost homes," said Scott Rowland, a geologist with the University of Oregon. So far 75 houses have been destroyed. Inside the evacuation zone, tensions are running high. John Hubbard, 61,...

Lava from Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano has reached the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, covering a well and threatening another. At the same time, fast-moving lava flows are now threatening nearby communities, prompting new evacuations. “Lava flow from Fissures 7 and 21 crossed into PGV [Puna Geothermal Venture] property overnight and has now covered one well that was successfully plugged,” declared the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency in a statement released on Sunday, May 27 at 6:00 pm local time. “That well, along with a second well 100 feet [30 meters] away, are stable and secured, and are being monitored. Also due...

This type of motion is not new, it actually has a name. It is called the Hilina Slump. During the last strong quake in Hawaii, a magnitude 7.2 event on November 29th 1975, this slump slid toward the ocean by about 11 feet. Another temblor, the 7.9 magnitude Hawaii quake of 1868 caused the slump to move as well, resulting in a tsunami with a maximum wave height of about 60 feet. With all respect for the people who are being affected by the current eruption, the way Kilauea lava comes to the surface is rather tame. It crawls slowly...

The U.S. Geological Survey has posted footage of the strange blue burning flames on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Caused by methane gas, the flames were observed on cracks in a street in Hawaii’s Leilani Estates Subdivision on May 22. “When hot lava buries plants and shrubs, methane gas is produced as a byproduct of burning vegetation,” explains the USGS, in the post. “Methane gas can seep into subsurface voids and explode when heated, or as shown in this video, emerge from cracks in the ground several feet away from the lava. When ignited, the methane produces a blue flame.”...

A man was seriously injured when he was hit with lava spatter while standing on his third-floor balcony — the first known injury related to Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano eruptions as new volcanic activity creates new threats in surrounding neighborhoods. The homeowner on Noni Farms Road was hit with lava on the shin and taken to the hospital with serious injuries, Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for the Office of the Mayor, told Reuters. "It hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg," Snyder said, adding that the lava spatter could weigh “as much as a refrigerator.”...

HILO — A fiery river of molten rock was on a collision course Saturday night with Highway 137 and the Pacific Ocean, prompting officials to warn about hazardous volcanic gas known as “laze” if lava meets the sea. The crossing, which hadn’t happened by press time, would effectively split lower Puna in two, leaving only Highway 130 as the escape route for residents from Opihikao to Kalapana. That route remained passable after state highway crews placed plates over ground cracks formed due to magma intrusion along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. Talmadge Magno, Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator, said there are...

One of the incredible stories du jour is the latest phase of the Hawaiian volcano. I have seen that volcano many times. It’s truly amazing. The desolation it can cause is incomprehensible. There are places where you can see immense vistas that have been devastated... The volcanic activity has recently increased...It’s awesome and unsettling. Code red. That’s the official designation for what’s happening. Code Red. It’s about to blow. But I’m speaking of the leftist cabal, not Kilauea. The Democratic/media complex is about to get worse than it has before. Soon. That’s hard to believe, but just watch. Yes, they...

An eruption from the Kilauea volcano's summit shot ash and smoke into the air early Thursday on Hawaii's Big Island, and the resulting plume is expected to cover the surrounding area, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The volcanic cloud reached 30,000 feet, the US Geological Survey said. That's a little below the cruising altitude of a jetliner. "At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent," the USGS said. "Ballistic projectiles may be produced should steam-driven explosions occur. Impacts will be limited to an area around...

An "explosive" eruption from Kilauea's summit on Thursday morning sent an ash plume soaring some 25,000 feet into the air, and officials are warning that the ash will cover a large part of the Big Island. MORE Kilauea Eruption Coverage of the Kilauea eruption threatening Puna subdivisions. More News Links What to do in case an eruption sends ashfall into your community Scientists are warning about the possibility of an explosive eruption at Kilauea's summit. (Image: USGS) The National Weather Service has issued an ashfall advisory after radar showed the massive plume. Hawaii Volcano Observatory officials confirmed that there was...

As on noon on Saturday, emergency officials report fissure 16 is venting lava spatter about a mile below the Puna Geothermal Venture property and a mile west, or Kalapana side, of highway 132. No residences are affected at this time, and no lava flow has been generated, civil defense says. According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory: Minor spattering activity has been reported from a new fissure (16) that has opened about 0645 this morning about 1 mile northeast of fissure 15 at the northeast end of the existing vent system. No significant lava flow from this new fissure has...