Kīlauea volcano continues to erupt from new fissure vent

Kīlauea volcano continues to erupt in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park from the new fissure vent that opened just west of Nāpau Crater on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at around 3:15 p.m., according to a daily update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

This is the fourth vent system of this eruption and it began rapidly creating lava cascades or lava falls that poured over the western cliffs of Nāpau Crater, according to the HVO. “The activity continued over night and the lava falls were visible on the S2 webcam this morning,” HVO scientists said.

The eruption is occurring within a closed and remote area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. There is no immediate threat to life or infrastructure. Residents of nearby subdivisions may experience volcanic gas emissions related to this activity which may increase and decrease over the coming hours and days. The Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remains at WATCH/ORANGE. No changes have been detected in the lower East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

“The summit tiltmeter at Sandhill continues to record strong deflation, while weaker deflation is being recorded by the tiltmeter at Uēkahuna. This pattern indicates that the summit magma body continues to supply magma to the middle East Rift Zone,” the HVO reports.

“The eruptive fissure west of Nāpau Crater remained active overnight and continues to feed lava cascades into the crater that have covered approximately 250,000 square meters (300,000 square yards) or a third of the crater floor since the new eruption began Wednesday afternoon. The rate of coverage indicates lava is erupting at roughly 5-15 cubic meters per second (6-16 cubic yards). At the time of this notice, fountaining remained strong as observed on the S2cam (see link below).  In total, approximately two thirds of Nāpau Crater floor (500,000 square meters or about 125 acres) has been covered during this eruption since Sunday night,” according to the HVO update.

The HVO reports: “The ongoing MERZ eruption is currently in its fourth phase of vent opening and lava production.  Each eruption has increased in volume with the current eruption being the largest to date.  Multi-day fissure eruptions are not unusual and current eruptive activity appears to be linked to supply of magma from the summit.”

According to the HVO, hazards remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes within the area closed to the public. “This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of the rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since early 2008,” the HVO said.