Volcano Video Spotlight: Andrew Hara

June 2, 2018

Volcano Video Spotlight: Andrew Hara

Andrew Hara on Vimeo

20180531 @ 15:30 – 20:00 HST Leilani Estates – Fissure 8 and surrounding area from Andrew Richard Hara on Vimeo.

Today we start a new series highlighting selected videos or video producers as the Kilauea eruption at Leilani Estates moves into its second month starting tomorrow, June 3.

The video above shows eruptive action from Fissure 8, which I am calling (unofficially) Pu’u Leilani. The fissure is building up a sizable cinder cone in the area. If it continues for a long time and the cone grows larger, it could rival that of the now dormant Pu’u O’o more than 13 miles away to the west.

Andrew Richard Hara is a professional photographer who has captured many images of the dynamic beauty and the distressing images that tell the story of the Kilauea eruption in lower Puna. He maintains a Vimeo channel, a website with is own domain and is active on Facebook. Many of his images have been licensed to various organizations.

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June 1, 2018June 1, 2018

Hurricane Season Started Today

For most of Hawaii, the impact from the Kilauea volcano eruption is minimal at best with vog and ash being the wider problem on the Big Island over the destructive lava flows in the localized area of lower Puna.

What can be a statewide problem is a major hurricane. Hawaii enters hurricane season starting today. It is highly advisable to get your disaster preparedness kit assembled or renewed before the state is hit with a large hurricane.

From the National Weather Service comes this article:

Hurricane Season Starts Today

June 1, 2018. | PRESS RELEASE

NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center announced there is an 80-percent chance of near- or above-normal tropical cyclone activity during the central Pacific hurricane season this year.

The 2018 outlook indicates equal chances of an above-normal and near-normal season at 40 percent each, and a 20-percent chance of a below-normal season.

For the season as a whole, three to six tropical cyclones are predicted for the central Pacific hurricane basin. This number includes tropical depressions, named storms and hurricanes. A near-normal season has three to five tropical cyclones, and an above-normal season has six or more tropical cyclones.

“This outlook reflects the forecast for ENSO neutral conditions, with a possible transition to a weak El Nino during the hurricane season. Also, ocean temperatures in the main hurricane formation region are expected to remain above-average, and vertical wind shear is predicted to be near- or weaker-than-average,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., NOAA’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center. Bell added, “If El Nino develops, the activity could be near the higher end of the predicted range.”

El Nino decreases the vertical wind shear over the tropical central Pacific, which favors more and stronger tropical cyclones. El Nino also favors more westward-tracking storms from the eastern Pacific into the central Pacific.

This outlook is a general guide to the overall seasonal hurricane activity in the central Pacific basin and does not predict whether or how many of these systems will affect Hawaii. The hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through November 30.

“It is very important to remember that it only takes one landfalling tropical cyclone to bring major impacts to the State of Hawaii,” said Chris Brenchley, director of NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center. “As we begin this 2018 hurricane season, we advise all residents to make preparations now, by having and practicing an emergency plan and by having 14 days of emergency supplies on hand that will be needed if a hurricane strikes.”

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center continuously monitors weather conditions, employing a network of satellites, land- and ocean-based sensors, and aircraft reconnaissance missions operated by NOAA and its partners. This array of data supplies the information for complex computer modeling and human expertise, which are the basis for the center’s storm track and intensity forecasts that extend out five days.

Check the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s website throughout the season to stay on top of any watches and warnings, and visit FEMA’s Ready.gov for additional hurricane preparedness tips.

The seasonal hurricane outlook is produced in collaboration with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

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May 29, 2018

Hawaii – Island of Fire

“Hawaii – Island of Fire” is an insightful report into the Kilauea eruption and its impact on the residents of Leilani Estates as well as the government officials who are tasked with managing this disaster.

While the eruption of Kilauea has been nothing short of spectacular and tragic at the same time, it is with note that I remind readers that the eruption’s lava flows are impacting less than 5% of the Island of Hawaii (Big Island).

While sensational reports of the eruption have been shown worldwide, officials at the State and County of Hawaii remind would-be visitors that Hawaii and the Big Island is open for business. The port in Hilo is open as well as all of the airports on the Big Island and the rest of the state. Tourists are encouraged not to cancel travel plans. Those visiting the Big Island are urged to patronize island businesses in the Puna and Volcano area.

The USGS map below show the impact of the active lava inundation areas as of May 28, 2018.

Be sure to check our Hawaii Volcano Videos collection on YouTube. It is a 500+ list of the most relevant videos pertaining to the current eruption with some historic ones thrown in.

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May 19, 2018

The Lava Is Headed to the Ocean

May 19, 2018 Pele’s March to the Pacific from Mick Kalber on Vimeo.

There is no doubt in my mind that the lava from this phase of the eruption will make it to the ocean by tonight or sometime in the next two days if the current level of activity continues. Seems like many of the fissures have joined and a new cinder cone may be in the making.

I am not a geologist, but only speculating in what could come next. Check all of the YouTube videos that I have compiled. You will see people’s reactions to the lava, news bulletins, more aerial shots, and commentary from the brave videographer residents who have chosen to stay in lower Puna and document all of the activity for the world to see.

Hawaii Volcano Videos on The Hawaii Files Channel (YouTube)

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May 3, 2018May 3, 2018

Kilauea May Rumble in a New Location

Pu'u O' o Ash Cloud — Smoke plume rises from Pu’u O’o crater on May 3.

Hawaii island’s Kilauea volcano is ramping up for some new activity downslope and away from the long running Pu’u O’o eruption area. Several days ago the crater wall at Pu’u O’o collapsed. The magma that is under the crater moved downslope along the East Rift Zone of Kilauea this week.

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 hit the Puna area this morning (May 3) at around 10:30 am. The quake caused part of the Pu’u O’o crater wall to collapse, sending out a huge plume of pinkish colored smoke.

The initial intensity of the May 3 earthquake was put at 4.6. It later was revised to 5.0 by the HVO. Numerous earthquakes have occurred in the southeast rift zone of Kilauea volcano over the past several days. USGS image.

The quake is one of a series of hundreds that are rocking the area. Most of the earthquakes are at the 1 or 2 point levels with a few spiking higher into the 3 point range. Hawaii Volcano Observatory scientists say this is a sign that lava is moving deep underground but could find its way back up to the surface a few miles away from the two current eruption sites.

Miles downslope and we are talking about several subdivisions in the lower Puna area, home to about 10,000 residents.

Lava movement down the slopes of Kilauea is not new. This kind of thing has happened in the past, most notably in 1955 and in 1960, when the village of Kapoho was overrun by lava.

Area residents know that they live in a place of high volcanic risk. Pu’u O’o has been continuously erupting since 1983. Houses, beaches, farmland, businesses and more have been wiped out by the volcano’s lava flows over the last 35 years. The village of Kalapana, once a pristine area with a beautiful black sand beach was wiped off the earth by lava in the late 1980s and 1990s. The town of Pahoa was almost inundated with a lava flow from the same volcano in 2014.

The summit eruption at the top of Kilauea Caldera within Halemaumau continues. The lava lake recently filled up and has drained somewhat this week.