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The Hawaii Files Volcano Watch
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ERUPTION!

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6.9 EARTHQUAKE FELT STATEWIDE – May 4, 2018. (updated)

A new eruption started yesterday (May 3) in the Leilani Estates subdivision at around 4:30 in the afternoon. The breakout of lava opened up in the middle of a street and lasted for a few hours. The new eruption stopped for several hours before restarting on another street in the same subdivision early this morning (May 4). As of this posting a third location of lava breakout has occurred.

The situation is ongoing and in constant change. The Hawaii County Civil Defense agency has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions. It would be a good idea for all residents living downslope of the active eruption area to be ready to also evacuate.

Some mainland media have erroneously reported that the overall eruption is new. As most everyone in Hawaii knows, this is the latest phase in a long running eruption that started at the Pu’u O’o area in January 1983 and has been ongoing ever since. Over the decades the eruption has destroyed homes, businesses and property. In 2008 the summit of Kilauea erupted and to this very day, both locations have been in continuous eruption spewing millions of yards of lava. The Leilani Estates chapter is just the latest in this ongoing series.

The Hawaii Files will be updating this post through most of today with additional videos added to our compilation (above) as they are posted by various sources to YouTube. New photographs from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will also be posted as they become available.

Leilani Estates Lava Fissure
An eruption has commenced in the Leilani Estates subdivision in the lower East Rift Zone of Kīlauea Volcano. White, hot vapor and blue fume emanated from an area of cracking in the eastern part of the subdivision.

Informative Links for Up To Date News

Hawaii Volcano Observatory (USGS)
USGS: Earthquakes
USGS: Kiluaea Volcano Alerts
Hawaii County Civil Defense
Big Island Now
Hawaii Tribune Herald
Ikaika Marzo ( Facebook video blogger)
Honolulu Star Advertiser
Honolulu Civil Beat
The Hawaii Files Channel Video Compilation

UPDATE: 6.9 Earthquake (12:30 pm 5-4-18)

Coordinates:-155.0321, 19.3702
Depth:5 km (3.1 mi)
Magnitude:6.9
Date:2018-05-04 12:32:55 local
2018-05-04 22:32:55 UTC
Age: 0 days
Distance From:16km SW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii
Number of Phases:67
Azimuthal Gap (deg):212
Distance to Nearest Station:0.1 deg
Vertical / Horizontal Error:0.71 km / 0.48 km
Event ID:us1000dyad
Contributing Network:us

UPDATE: 5.4 Earthquake

map
Hawaii Island – East Rift Zone earthquakes May 4, 2018. The largest was at 6.9.
Coordinates:-155.032, 19.3418
Depth:6.93 km (4.3 mi)
Magnitude:5.4
Date:2018-05-04 11:32:44 local
2018-05-04 21:32:44 UTC
Age: 0 days
Distance From:18km SW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii
Number of Phases:64
Azimuthal Gap (deg):195
Distance to Nearest Station:0.05 deg
Vertical / Horizontal Error:0.4 km / 0.6 km
USGS Kapoho Webcam
The Kapoho webcam looking northeast up to the Pu’u O’o area. You can clearly see the plumes from the three lava breakouts in Leilani Estates subdivision.
Lava Fissure at Leilani Estates
A new lava fissure commenced around 1:00 am HST on Kīlauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone on Makamae and Leilani Streets in the Leilani Estates subdivision. Spatter was being thrown roughly 30 m (about 100 ft) high at the time of this photo. Copious amounts of sulfur dioxide gas, which should be avoided, is emitted from active fissures. The eruption is dynamic and changes could occur with little warning.
Fissure Cracks
Steaming cracks at 5:57 a.m. HST in Leilani Estates subdivision, moments before a fissure opened up on Kaupili Street.

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Melvin Ah Ching is a photographer, consultant, blogger, desktop publisher, and computer enthusiast living and working in Hawaii. The Hawaii Files have been online since 2006.