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| Two explosions occurred overnight at the summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano overnight as lava fountains and volcanic gas emissions continue to spew from Fissure 8. Photo courtesy U.S. Geological Survey |
By Daniel Uria, UPI
Two steam explosions occurred at the summit of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island early Monday, seismologists said.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said two explosions of similar seismicity took place at 12:46 a.m. and 4:43 a.m. Seismic activity and explosions have occurred at the summit since the beginning of May.
The observatory also reported that three closely spaced lava fountains at Fissure 8 erupted with lava at heights between 115 feet and 130 feet, and volcanic gas emissions were measured to have doubled in the past two weeks.
"This morning's overflight confirms that fountaining continues at Fissure 8 and that its channel is nearly full with no spillovers," the observatory said.
Weak lava activity at Fissures 16 and 18 also were observed Sunday night.
The Hawaii County Civil Defense announced plans to scale back operations in the midst of heavy lava flow, Hawaii News Now reported.
"We've pretty much thrown everything at this event for the past month and half now," civil defense administrator Talmadge Magno said. "Some aspects of it can kind of start to scale down as the volcano somewhat runs into a stable situation."
The County of Hawai'i announced that Leilani Estates West of Pomaikai Street and Government Beach Road, between Kahakai Boulevard and Cinder Road were opened only to residents with official credentials.
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