September 19, 2024 —Kīlauea middle East Rift Zone eruption overflight

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists conducted a reconnaissance overflight of the eruption near Nāpau Crater on the middle East Rift Zone of Kīlauea. They observed a 150-m-long (nearly 500 feet) fissure west of the crater erupting lava that is flowing in the crater via a channel more than 50 meters (about 164 feet) wide. Lava is contained within Nāpau Crater and now covers about two thirds of the crater floor. Flows erupted on September 15-16 are visible steaming in the foreground. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.