Lava spurts through cracks in roads and flows in residential areas on Big Island before earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.4 and 6.9 reported

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A whole town has been ordered to evacuate after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island caused lava to flow in residential areas, followed by two large earthquakes.

All 1,500 inhabitants of Pahoa were told to leave after steam and lava poured out of a crack in the nearby Leilani Estates. Lava spurted into the sky from the road and aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest. On Friday afternoon, a 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit the island followed by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake about an hour later, officials reported.

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A resident, Ikaika Marzo, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that lava spread over an area about 180 metres wide behind one house in Leilani Estates on Thursday. He said it sounded like a jet engine.

Residents had been warned for the last week that they should prepare to evacuate, with officials saying an eruption would give little warning. Nearby community centres were providing shelter.

Earlier in the week, a school in the Puna district was closed due to the continuing seismic activity and several roads cracked under the strain.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest An ash plume rises above the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. Up to 10,000 people have been asked to leave their homes following the eruption. Photograph: Kevan Kamibayashi/AFP/Getty Images

Since Monday, hundreds of earthquakes – most of them about 2.0 magnitude – have been recorded in the area. The Puu Oo, which is a volcanic cone in the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano, began to collapse on Monday, triggering earthquakes and pushing the lava into newly created underground chambers.



Officials said it was impossible to predict how long the eruption would last. The volcano had burned two homes, authorities said.

Jeremiah Osuna, who captured drone footage of the lava stream, told the Honolulu television station KOHN that it sounded as if someone “put a bunch of rocks into a dryer”. He said he could smell the sulphur, along with the burning trees and other vegetation.



The US Geological Survey said fresh cracks in the ground were reported on Thursday afternoon and hot vapour and lava began to erupt.

The geologist Janet Babb said the magma crossed below Highway 130, which leads to a popular volcano access point, on Tuesday night. The Hawaii county civil defence agency closed the area to visitors and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lava spurts from the ground as emergency vehicles attend the scene. Photograph: Video screegrab/Maija Stenbeck/via Reuters

After the second major earthquake, there were no immediate reports of significant damage, and the Hilo airport and highways did not face major impacts, according to the Associated Press. There were also no reports of damage.

The earthquake wasn’t strong enough to cause a tsunami, and no tsunami threat or advisory has been put in place, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It is located in the Hawaii Volcanoes national park, which has closed off nearly 6,350 hectares (15,700 acres) due to “the possibility of a new eruption and unstable geologic activity”.

Most of Kilauea’s activity has been non-explosive, but an eruption in 1924 spewed ash and nine tonnes of rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.

Puu Oo’s 1983 eruption resulted in lava fountains soaring over 460 metres (1,500ft) high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried large areas of land and destroyed many homes.