September 16, 2024, 8:33 p.m. HST
According to the Hawai’i Volcano Observatory, the hour-long eruption in the central eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano resumed around 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The eruption is occurring in a remote and restricted area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The volcano alert level for ground-based hazards currently remains at Watch and the flight color code remains ORANGE.
The eruption does not currently pose an immediate threat to human life or infrastructure. The Chain of Craters Road, which is closed, is downslope and downwind of the erupting fissures. Residents of nearby settlements may experience volcanic gas emissions (see Hazards section below) associated with this activity, which may increase and decrease over the next few days.
Current activity is confined to the central east rift zone of Kīlauea. Seismicity and ground deformation beneath the lower east rift zone and the southwest rift zone remain low.
Since September 14, magmatic intrusion has been occurring in the area around Makaopuhi Crater in the central eastern rift zone. A very small eruption occurred west of Nāpau Crater on Sunday night and resumed this evening. The activity is visible in PWcam: Live panorama of the west flank of Pu’u’ō’ō from Pu’u’ō’ō (PWcam).
HVO continues to closely monitor the Middle East Rift Zone and is in contact with Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and the Hawai’i County Civil Defense Agency. Due to this increased activity, temporary closures have been implemented; the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website can be found here.
The Kīlauea rift zone in the middle east experienced numerous eruptions in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of these eruptions occurred between Hiʻiaka Crater and Puʻuʻōʻō and lasted from less than a day to about two weeks, although there were also long-lasting eruptions at Maunaulu (1969–1971 and 1972–1974) and Puʻuʻōʻō (1983–2018). A map of past eruptive activity in the Kīlauea rift zone from the upper to middle east is available here.
Click here for more information on the meaning of volcano warning levels and aviation color codes.
