Images

Map as of 9:00 a.m. HST, May 13, shows the location of fissure 17, which opened this morning at approximately 4:30 a.m. HST. NOTE: This new fissure was initially referred to as fissure 18 in early reports, but that is incorrect (what was called fissure 17 yesterday did not erupt lava, so this morning's erupting fissure is actually 17).

At 10:31 a.m. HST. Cracks on Hwy 132 marked with orange spray paint to track changes through time.

At 8:00 a.m. HST. A slow sticky a'a flow emerges from a new fissure just over a half mile northeast of the end of Hinalo Street. The new fissure - fissure 17 - is about one half mile south of Hwy 132. Some reports have referred to this fissure as number 18 but that is not correct. Fissure 18 had not erupted by this time.

Main map shows the location of fissure 16, as well as earlier fissures, lava flows, and steaming areas, as of 12:00 p.m. HST, May 12. Inset map shows fissures in Leilani Estates in the order they occurred since May 3. Shaded purple areas indicate lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

5/12/18, 12:57 p.m. HST - Lava was slowly advancing from fissure 16.

At 08:27 a.m. HST, aerial view of fissure 16, located about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) northeast of fissure 15 (top left). The fissure is located 500 m northeast of the Puna Geothermal Venture site (top right). Photograph courtesy of Hawai`i County Fire Department.

5/12/18, 08:27 a.m. HST - An aerial view of fissure 16, located about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) northeast of fissure 15 (top left). The fissure is located 500 m northeast of the Puna Geothermal Venture site (top right). Photograph courtesy of Hawai`i County Fire Department.

On the morning of May 9, 2018, a large rockfall in "Overlook crater" within Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea triggered a gas-driven explosion that sent an ash plume several thousand feet skyward. Phreatic (steam-driven) explosions can create larger ash plumes; the 1924 explosions sent ash plumes up to 20,000 feet high. USGS photo.

To help us understand what could happen at Kīlauea Volcano's summit, we look to past similar events, but this does not mean that future events will be exactly the same. This map shows the distribution of ballistics and tephra from the 1924 phreatic (steam-driven) explosions.

At 9:06 a.m. HST, 5/11/18, an ash plume rose from the Overlook crater at Kīlauea's summit. Similar to recent plumes, this event was likely caused by a rockfall from the crater's steep walls.

Ash column rises from the Overlook crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. HVO's interpretation is that the explosion was triggered by a rockfall from the steep walls of Overlook crater. The photograph was taken 5/9/18 at 8:29 a.m. HST from the Jaggar Museum overlook.

HVO geologist measured a temperature of 103 degrees C (218 degree F) at a crack along Nohea Street, Leilani Estates. The asphalt road was describes as "mushy" from the heat.

Yellow street lines show the offset of cracks on Leilani Street, Leilani Estates.

The summit lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater has dropped substantially over the past week due to intrusive and eruptive activity on the lower East Rift zone. This 3D model of the crater was created from thermal images collected during a helicopter overflight on May 8. The lake at this time was roughly 295 m (970 feet) below the floor of Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

At 13:00 p.m. HST. Aerial view from the Hawaii County Fire Department of fissure 15. The fissure cut across Pohoiki Road.

This map shows the locations of fissures and an 'a'ā flow erupted since May 3 in the order that they occurred in Leilani Estates as of 5:30 p.m. HST, May 9. Note the area of heavy steaming from ground cracks that began earlier this afternoon, located west of Highway 130. The purple areas are lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

At 16:22 HST. Steaming area located uprift (west) of Highway 130. Geologists observed many steaming ground cracks in the area during two overflights this afternoon. This area is inline with fissures 1-15 (in distance, upper left in photo), but located farther west.

This thermal map shows the fissure system during an overflight of the area this afternoon. Fissure 15, at the northeast end of the fissure system, formed today but was only briefly active. The black and white area is the extent of the thermal map.

This map shows the locations of fissures and an ‘A‘ā flow erupted since May 3 in the order that they occurred in Leilani Estates as of 7:00 p.m. HST, May 8. The purple areas are lava flows erupted in 1840, 1955, 1960, and 2014-2015.

Severe ground cracks associated with fissure 14 in Leilani Estates. 

Ash column rises from the Overlook crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. HVO's interpretation is that the explosion was triggered by a rockfall from the steep walls of Overlook crater. The photograph was taken at 8:29 a.m. HST from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The explosion was short-lived.