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All Weather News

Volcanic Eruption on Hawaii Causes Evacuations, Dangerous Conditions

4 May 2018, 10:40 am

Residents on the Big Island of Hawaii were forced to flee their homes following a lava eruption Thursday evening. Yet another eruption occurred on Friday morning.

The areas affected are on the eastern side of the Big island in the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna subdivisions Hawaii. The Hawaii Civil Defense continues to provide updates and shelters for those affected.

The Hawaiian Volcanic Observatory confirms that volcanic vents are erupting lava, causing dangerous hot lava to flow slowly through the nearby areas. Fire officials warn they’ve detected extremely high levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide in Leilani Estates and are reiterating the message to residents that they must get out of the community — and stay out until — until the threat has passed.

According the to US Geological Survey, lava came to the surface at the eastern end of the division. Lava spatter and gas bursts erupted from the fissure for about two hours, and lava spread for a short distance, less than 10 meters (33 feet), the agency said. Lava was reported to have erupted 125 feet into the air, according to local media.

As of Friday morning, the USGS shows more than 2 dozen earthquakes have occurred in the past day, with the largest measuring a 5.0 magnitude.

NOAA Satellites tweeted out satellite imagery of the volcanic eruption showing up on the Big Island Thursday. The red dots show hot spots from the volcanic eruption.