Lava from Big Island’s Kilauea volcano has now been responsible for destroying hundreds of home. Scientists have had little idea of when exactly the activity could stop, as Kilauea has been continuously busy for the past 35 years. The volcano has been active enough to produce an entire new outcrop of land jutting of the coast at Kapoho Bay. Geologists have been constantly monitoring the summit of the volcano for changes, and some areas are apparently starting to quiet down.

The US Geological Survey monitoring has found the volcano has been erupting on and off for centuries now. Despite reports that fissure 22 on the volcano is now just dribbling lava, fissure 8 is still going strong, with 100 cubic metres of lava per second leaking out. A new report from the area is now estimating that the eruption could continue for years to come.

The report said: "Given this volume and the sustained withdrawal of magma from the summit reservoir without appreciable deformation in the lower East Rift Zone, it is most likely that the LERZ eruption may continue for months to years. “If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down.” The unpredictable nature of the volcano is also something researchers have taken into account. The report says: ”While this seems to be the most likely outcome, a pause in the eruption, followed by additional activity, cannot be ruled out, nor can an abrupt cessation or a transition to steady, longer-lived activity at a lower effusion rate."

Where is the lava from Kilauea heading? Kilauea’s lava flow has managed to destroy hundreds of homes, and the new report claims that it could move towards entirely new neighbourhoods. The latest reports from USGS have shown that lava flows are now approaching Isaac Hale park in the Alahanui area, and are only 500m away. Breaches and overflows in the channelised lava flows are threatening to push it in new directions. The report says: "The main hazard from the source cone and the channel system is a failure of the cone or channel walls or blockage of the channel where it divides in narrower braids. “Either could divert most, if not all, of the lava to a new course depending on where the breach occurs.” </s> — Geologists monitoring the eruption of the Kilauea volcano say it could continue to spout lava for a long time.

The volcano has been erupting since early May in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on Hawaii's big island, forcing evacuations and destroying more than 700 homes. The US Geological Survey's Hawaii Volcano Observatory said the eruption has covered more than 12 square miles (23 square kilometers) with black lava and has added 700 acres of new land to the island.

A report from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory found that this eruption, in what geologists call Kilauea's lower East Rift Zone, has produced a greater volume of lava than past eruptions in the area.

"Given this volume and the sustained withdrawal of magma from the summit reservoir without appreciable deformation in the lower East Rift Zone, it is most likely that the LERZ eruption may continue for months to years," the report said.

Kilauea has been erupting on and off for centuries, according to the US Geological Survey.

The most recent eruption has ripped dozens of fissures in the Earth's surface, allowing lava and dangerous gasses to escape. The most prominent is fissure 8, which is spewing out lava that runs in a channel from Leilani Estates to the ocean.

The report said that lava is flowing out of fissure 8 at an estimated rate of 100 cubic meters per second and shows no signs of waning pressure.

'If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down," it said. "While this seems to be the most likely outcome, a pause in the eruption, followed by additional activity, cannot be ruled out, nor can an abrupt cessation or a transition to steady, longer-lived activity at a lower effusion rate."

The Hawaii Volcano Observatory gave the report to the Hawaii County Civil Defense to help them prepare for possible threats from the eruption.

It said that a breach in the current channel could divert the lava in a new direction and put other areas at risk.

"The main hazard from the source cone and the channel system is a failure of the cone or channel walls or blockage of the channel where it divides in narrower braids. Either could divert most, if not all, of the lava to a new course depending on where the breach occurs," the report said.

The report focused on threats to areas north of the current lava flow because they have not been evacuated. </s> (PAHOA, Hawaii) — A volcano that is oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaii’s Big Island has gotten more hazardous, sending rivers of molten rock pouring into the ocean Sunday and launching lava skyward that caused the first major injury.

Kilauea volcano began erupting more than two weeks ago and has burned dozens of homes, forced thousands of people to flee and shot up ash clouds from its summit that led officials to distribute face masks.

Lava flows have picked up speed in recent days, spattering molten rock that hit a man in the leg.

He was outside his home Saturday in the remote, rural region affected by the volcano when the lava “hit him on the shin and shattered everything from there down on his leg,” Janet Snyder, Hawaii County mayor’s spokeswoman, told the Hawaii News Now TV station.

Lava that’s flying through the air from cracks in the Earth can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces can be deadly, officials said.

The injury came the same day that lava began streaming across a highway and flowing into the ocean.

The interaction of lava and seawater has created a cloud of steam laced with hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles that can irritate the skin and eyes and cause breathing problems.

The lava haze, or “laze,” extended as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of where the lava gushed into the ocean on the Big Island’s southern coast. It was just offshore and running parallel to the coast, said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall.

Authorities warn that the plume could shift direction if the winds change. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says sulfur dioxide emissions also have tripled.

Residents in the area have been evacuated, and the highway that the lava crossed has shut down in places.

Joseph Kekedi, an orchid grower who lives and works about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from where lava is pouring into the sea, said luckily the flow didn’t head his way. At one point, it was about a mile upslope from his property in the coastal community of Kapoho.

He said residents can’t do much but stay informed and be ready to get out of the way.

“Here’s nature reminding us again who’s boss,” Kekedi said.

He is hosting a 90-year-old who evacuated from the Leilani Estates neighborhood, where lava started spewing May 3. He also was storing belongings for other friends who had to leave their homes.

Kekedi said most of his neighbors are optimistic. He has friends who lost houses when lava smothered the town of Kalapana in the 1990s but they built again, found a good life and “life went on.”

Scientists say they don’t know how long the eruption will last. The volcano has opened more than 20 vents, including four that have merged into one large crack. It has been gushing lava high into the sky and sending a river of molten rock toward the ocean at about 300 yards (274 meters) per hour.

The flows accelerated after newer lava began emerging from the ground late last week. The fresher lava is hotter and tends to move faster than the older lava that was unleashed earlier.

Scientists say the older lava is likely from magma that Kilauea has been storing underground since the volcano last erupted in 1955.

The area affected by lava and ash is small compared with the Big Island, which is about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers). The volcano has spared most of the island and the rest of the Hawaiian chain.

Officials reminded tourists that flights have not been affected, even on the Big Island. There, travelers are free to do most of the usual sightseeing activities that aren’t associated with the erupting volcano.

McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press journalists Jae C. Hong and Marco Garcia in Pahoa contributed to this report. </s> LEILANI ESTATES, Hawaii — There is a new health threat tonight on Hawaii’s Big Island. Flowing lava from the Kilauea volcano has now reached the Pacific Ocean, creating a toxic stew.

In a tower of lava, the Big Island’s volcanic beginnings burst again into view. All the molten rock is hotter than a house fire and needs some place to go. From fissure 20, we tracked its flow two miles to where the hot river pours into the Pacific Ocean.

When the lava hits the ocean, it produces a hazard called “laze,” releasing hot steam and hydrochloric acid, which is poisonous and burns on contact. The wind could shift at any time.

Experts warn the laze cloud could travel 15 miles, another worry for emergency officials along with flying “lava bombs” that can weigh as much as refrigerators. One hit a man over the weekend, shattering his shin.

“It’s a worry that people will be injured or killed, sure,” said geologist Dr. Carolyn Parcheta.

Parcheta said Kilauea’s eruption has now evolved beyond what she calls its “throat-clearing phase.”

“I think we’re moving into phase two and that’s where we’re going to see increased activity, potentially higher fountains, more lava flows,” Parcheta said, adding that the lava is spreading the length of two to four football fields an hour.

Over the last month, the Big Island has recorded 3,000 volcano-related earthquakes. Fortunately, most of the active flows keep marching south, away from where more islanders live.

But lava overwhelmed Leilani Estates, the hardest-hit neighborhood, burning and burying more than a dozen homes. About 1,700 people fled, but John Artymovich is a holdout.

“As long as the wind is blowing in the direction it has in the last two weeks, except for one or two days, it’s taking the gas all that way,” Artymovich said. </s> Kilauea has been erupting continuously since May 3, when a series of earthquakes resulted in a powerful expulsion of lava. Earthquakes continue to rock the summit, with the draining lava resulting in subsidence inside the volcano. United States Geological Survey spokesman Steve Brantley told residents: “At the summit, the volcano continues to subside very slowly over time and periodically, now once about every 30 hours or almost every day, the ground drops as much as 2.5m. "Each drop results in a ground shaking that’s equivalent to about a magnitude 5 event.” Fissure 8 remains the most active, with lava pouring out into a channel constantly flowing across the island.

However, fissure 20 has also reactivated, spewing lava into the air and toward the ocean. Fissures are cracks in the earth’s surface which are created when lava from an erupting volcano forces its way up towards land. Mr Brantley added: "A high rate of lava is still being erupted and we really haven’t noticed a change in that rate. "The lava is pouring into the open channel that makes it’s way to the northeast and makes a sharp right-hand turn on the east side of Kapoho crater.

"A little over a week ago, the open channel that was pouring into the ocean began to recede such that the distal portion of that lava flow was being covered over with a cooled surface. "Instead the lava was moving through the core of that flow and entering the ocean in a very broad area." At 4pm Wednesday local time (3am Thursday BST), The Hawaii Civil Defense issued a warning for residents. This Civil Defence Message reported: “Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent. “A flow moving around the west side of Kapoho Cone has proceeded to a quarter of a mile to the coast.

“Break outs are occurring from the main channel in Leilani Estates. "The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that two homes on Luana Street have been destroyed by the break out and one home on Nohea Street is threatened.” The latest official number of houses destroyed in Lower Puna was 700 - a figure which continues to rise as the volcano erupts. The USGS said lava has covered more than 6,100 acres across Big Island, with a channel continuously pouring into the ocean. </s> It's been more than two months since magma started erupting from the ground in Kilauea Volcano's Lower East Rift Zone, (LERZ) sending channels of flowing lava over entire communities, lakes and even filling in an entire bay. Now scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory warn this could be just the beginning.

A report produced last week by the USGS for Hawaii County Civil Defense predicts "it is most likely that the LERZ eruption may continue for months to years."

It notes that the constant flow of lava over the past several weeks and lack of any ground deformation suggests there is plenty of pent-up magma underground and pressure to keep the eruption going for some time, with or without breaks in the flow.

"If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, then it may take months to a year or two to wind down. While this seems to be the most likely outcome, a pause in the eruption, followed by additional activity, cannot be ruled out, nor can an abrupt cessation or a transition to steady, longer‐lived activity at a lower effusion rate."

Years of sustained eruption at the current rate would produce a staggering amount of lava.

The USGS report compared the ongoing eruption to other major volcanic events in the area over the past two centuries and finds that the volume of lava flows surfaced since May has already exceeded the combined volume from major eruptions in 1840, 1955 and 1960.

To provide some sense of scale: if the eruption were to continue at the same rate for a total of two years, it could produce about 5 billion cubic meters of lava, which is comparable to the amount of water unleashed when a dam collapsed in Laos this week, devastating communities there and leaving hundreds missing.

As if that weren't enough to fathom, the USGS says the structure and character of the lava flow appears to be changing, adding to the bad news.

"The change in the character... may signal a gradual change of eruption style and a potentially longer eruption with more destruction of infrastructure. " </s> The Kilauea eruption — which began May 3 and has destroyed more than 700 homes — “most likely” could continue for months to years.

The Kilauea eruption — which began May 3 and has destroyed more than 700 homes — “most likely” could continue for months to years.

That’s the conclusion of a recent U.S. Geological Survey report prepared for Hawaii County Civil Defense.

The authors said the sustained flow of magma from the summit so far leads them to believe it will be some time before the eruption ends.

The range of duration is broad and remains unpredictable, scientists said Monday afternoon during a phone conference.

The document, posted online, is intended as a guide for managing the hazards and risks on Kilauea’s lower East Rift Zone. In addition to the homes destroyed, the eruption has covered farms, a school and beloved recreational areas.

“Given this volume and the sustained withdrawal of magma from the summit reservoir without appreciable deformation in the lower East Rift Zone, it is most likely that the LERZ (lower East Rift Zone) eruption may continue for months to years,” the report said.

Steve Brantley, USGS deputy scientist in charge, said the volume of lava erupting into the lower East Rift Zone, so far, is quite high compared with the volumes of historical eruptions dating back to 1940.

“The continued subsidence of the crater up at Halemaumau implies directly that magma is withdrawing from the summit reservoirs and moving down the lower East Rift Zone into fissure 8,” said Brantley. “So there’s a very large volume of magma there that can supply lava rates for quite some time.”

If the ongoing eruption maintains its current style of activity at a high eruption rate, the report said, then “it may take months to a year or two to wind down.”

So far, the current eruption has not lasted as long as the 1955 eruption — which was 88 days, including pauses — but it has erupted far more lava at a higher rate.

“This current eruption is unlike any that we have experienced; no one is able to predict how long the eruption will last,” said Mayor Harry Kim in an email. “Our County Civil Defense works to ensure the community’s safety, regardless of the duration of this event.”

USGS recorded another collapse event at Kilauea’s summit at 8:54 p.m. Sunday, with energy equal to a 5.3-magnitude earthquake. There was no tsunami threat to Hawaii island. A few overflows were found just northwest of Kapoho Cone but stalled before threatening any structures.

More than 50 “collapse events” have occurred at Halemaumau since the eruption began May 3; they repeat approximately once every 30 hours.

Halemaumau Crater, meanwhile, continues to “slump,” meaning parts of its rim and walls are sloughing off, resulting in a larger diameter and deeper depth. Since mid-May, USGS said, the depth of the crater has more than tripled, and the diameter more than doubled.

How much larger the crater will become also remains unknown, according to Brantley.

Sunday’s collapse caused additional damage to Highway 11 between mile markers 28 and 32 near Volcano, state officials said. Motorists are urged to drive with extreme caution in the area.

At the oceanfront the flow remains about a quarter-mile from the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park. The lava delta area now measures about 740 acres and extends about a half-mile from the pre-eruption coastline. It could potentially collapse without warning, leading to explosions.

The focus of the report is on fissure 8, which first became active May 5 and erupted “with a vigorous fountain” May 27, producing a relatively fast-moving, channelized flow going northeast. Two days later the flow crossed Pohoiki Road and Highway 132, and reached Kapoho Bay on June 3.

By the end of June, the fountaining from fissure 8 built a spatter cone about 180 feet high, with lava from the vent continuing to feed into an 8-mile-long channel to the ocean at about 50 to 150 cubic meters per second.

If the cone or channel walls fail, or if narrower braids of the channel get blocked, the lava could take a new course.

Several scenarios that could come from fissure 8, which as of Monday continued to send lava to the ocean, with an active ocean entry southeast of Aha­lanui, were mapped out in the report. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory focused on scenarios where lava flows to the north of the existing channel system, where residents have not yet been evacuated.

If there is an upper channel breach — in the channel between the vent and Pohoiki Road/Highway 132 — USGS said it is likely to advance northeast and continue along the eastern boundary of the Nanawale Estates subdivision, ultimately crossing Railroad Avenue and Government Beach Road. It could reach the ocean southeast of Kahakai Boulevard or slightly closer to the Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Shores subdivisions.

With a middle channel breach, which could happen if one of the braided sections of the channel is blocked, lava could be redirected to the north, threatening homes in the Noni Farms area and Railroad Avenue, Papaya Farms and Government Beach roads. It would enter the ocean between Kalamanu and the northern edge of the 1960 lava flow.

There also could be a lower channel breach. On July 9 and 10 the channel overflow northwest of Kapoho Crater created a new lobe that advanced south, destroying Kua o ka La Public Charter School and Ahalanui warm ponds. The flow north and east of Kapoho Crater to the ocean is still oozing lava into the ocean and could widen, threatening remaining structures in the Kapoho Ags and Beach lots, along with Cape Kumukahi Lighthouse.

Elizabeth Kekidi, owner of Alohilani Orchids on Railroad Avenue, said she still plans to keep her nursery going at the border of Kalapana. Her orchids are doing fine, she said, as long as trades blow the other way.

“I’m going to try to hang on,” she said. “I’m hoping. For some reason I don’t believe it’s going to last. Maybe in the next month or two, I think, it’ll be over.”

Her greatest challenge, she said, is limited access into and out of her nursery, which is currently accomplished by taking back roads. If lava cuts off those roads, however, she will be in trouble. </s> First it was catastrophic lava. Then it was sulfur dioxide. Now Big Island residents have yet another danger to worry about.

Laze — a mashup of “lava” and “haze” — is a nasty product formed when hot lava hits the ocean, sending hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass particles into the air.

And now it’s a real threat after lava crossed Highway 137 late Saturday night and entered the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) said.

Laze can cause lung, eye and skin irritation. And it’s proven deadly in the past.

“This hot, corrosive gas mixture caused two deaths immediately adjacent to the coastal entry point in 2000, when seawater washed across recent and active lava flows,” the HVO said.

Officials are warning people to stay away from areas where lava meets the ocean. But further inland, residents have other problems.

The Kilauea volcano erupted at least twice this weekend — at one point launching a cloud of ash up to 10,000 feet high.

“These eruptions caused a 5.0 magnitude and a 4.9 magnitude tremor at the summit,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

“Additional explosive events that could produce minor amounts of ashfall downwind are possible at any time.”

Since Kilauea’s massive eruption May 3, Brink said, about 2,250 earthquakes have struck on or around Hawaii’s Big Island.

As the earth keeps shaking, liquid fire keeps flowing.

Flaming rivers of molten rock have already destroyed at least 40 structures. But newer, fresher lava shooting out from fissures spell more danger.

“The consistency of lava is now changing,” CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said. “Now it is runnier, but that is allowing it to move faster.”

The volcano has led to almost two dozen fissures that have cracked open the earth’s surface — purging fountains of lava and dangerous sulfur dioxide.

And some fissures refuse to die.

“A handful of old fissures have reactivated and joined together over the past few days,” CNN’s Scott McLean reported from Pahoa. “Lava is pouring out like a fountain … feeding a fast-moving lava stream that’s now reached the ocean.”

Resident Ikaika Marzo said the lava flow isn’t just treacherous. It’s like hell on Earth.

“It sounds like 10 or 20 jets taking off from your backyard at the same time,” Marzo told CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now.

“It’s been like hell,” he said. “It’s like huge grenades going off. It shakes the whole community.” </s> The eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has sent so much lava flowing into nearby Kapoho Bay that the area is now completely filled.The United States Geological Survey announced Tuesday morning that an aerial survey of the shallow bay on the Big Island's east coast confirmed it was completely filled. To date, the coastline has been extended 0.7 miles, and lava continues to fountain from fissure 8, the source of the flow.Helicopter footage showed dangerous laze (lava haze) pluming from the new coastline. Miles of charred, blackened landscape are visible behind the ocean-entry point, showing the lava flow's path of destruction from the inland fissure.There's no guarantee that the extended coastline won't be further altered; the USGS warned that the newly formed lava delta is unstable and easily eroded by the surf. In some instances, collapsing deltas can bring parts of the older sea cliff crashing into the water, too.The USGS reported that lava had inundated most of the nearby Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland subdivisions. Emergency management officials estimated that hundreds of homes in those subdivisions were destroyed by lava in addition to the dozens of homes destroyed in the Leilani Estates neighborhood in nearby Puna.
Geologists monitoring the eruption of Kīlauea warned it could continue to spout lava for a long time.