Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts again, spewing lava fountains - LIVE
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano roared back to life and resumed its eruption Wednesday as dramatic video provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) showed lava shooting hundreds of feet into the air.
According to an update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO), the eruption of Kilauea within Kaluapele (summit caldera) resumed just after 9 a.m. local time Wednesday when a small lava flow was observed coming from the north vent, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Less than an hour later, the eruption intensified when low-level fountaining began with more rigorous lava flow activity.
The HVO said that the small, sluggish lava flow marked the start of the fourth episode of the ongoing summit eruption that has been observed.
At the time of its most recent update on Wednesday, the HVO said that about 10% of the floor of Halema’uma’u had been covered with new lava, and based on video, the lava fountain appeared to be about 200 feet high.
Scientists said that the slow rate of eruptive activity at the start of this most recent eruptive episode was shorter than the start of the second (3-4 hours) and third (2.5 days) eruptive episodes.
The HVO said equipment continued to record inflation under Halema’uma’u around 9 a.m. local time Wednesday and could be showing signs that it was leveling off.
However, earthquake activity increased when the fountaining started but was lower than in the first two episodes of high lava fountains.
If that continues, the HVO said that lava fountain heights could increase as more gas-rich lava flows. It’s impossible to determine how high those lava fountains could reach, but the HVO said that prior episodes produced fountains more than 200 feet high that lasted up to 24 hours.
Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes, and it has been intermittently erupting within the summit caldera since December 2024.
A fountain of lava erupted from a Hawaii volcano on Tuesday, marking the latest in a series of eruptions that have intermittently paused and resumed.
Fountains from a vent of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island grew to more than 250 feet on Monday, according to the latest status report from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
On Tuesday, a webcam showed vigorous streams of red lava.
A webcam shows erupting from Kilauea volcano (USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory/AP)
The eruption began on December 23 in a crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
It marks the eruption’s eighth episode. Small, sporadic spatter fountains began on Sunday, which grew more intense, the observatory said.
The fountains grew from 50 feet to 250 feet high in an hour on Monday.
The eruption is happening within a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park without posing a threat to homes or infrastructure.
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