Smoke rises from Kilauea volcano as dozens of structures, including at least nine homes, have been destroyed by scorching lava flows following a massive volcano eruption on Hawaii's Big Island, U.S.The 2018 lower Puna eruption is an ongoing volcanic event on the island of Hawaii on Kīlauea volcano's East Rift Zone that began on May 3, 2018. Outbreaks of lava fountains up to 300 feet (90 m) high, lava flows and volcanic gas in the Leilani Estates subdivision were preceded by earthquakes and ground deformation that created cracks in the roads. The next day, May 4, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit Puna. As of May 9, 2018 the eruption has resulted in the destruction of 27 houses in Leilani Estates, with 1,700 residents evacuated.
The volcanic event is the 62nd episode of Kīlauea’s ongoing east rift zone eruption that began in January 1983, forming Puʻu ʻŌʻō, which became a prominent volcanic cone over the years. Puʻu ʻŌʻō produced lava flows that destroyed the nearby Royal Gardens subdivision and the settlement of Kapa’ahu. In 1990, lava flows from the Kūpaiʻanahā vent of Kīlauea, downrift from Puʻu ʻŌʻō, destroyed and partly buried most of the nearby town of Kalapana.
On April 30, 2018, a few miles from the summit caldera of Kīlauea, the crater floor of the cone of Puʻu ʻŌʻō collapsed, and in the first two days of May 2018, hundreds of small earthquakes were detected on Kīlauea’s East rift zone, leading officials to issue evacuation warnings for some residents of the Puna District. On May 2, 2018, the US Geological Survey reported that ground deformation resulting from magma intruding beneath the Leilani Estates subdivision had caused ground cracks to form on roads in and around the subdivision.
On May 3, 2018, after a 5.0 earthquake earlier in the day, steaming ground cracks opened in Leilani Estate and began to spew lava, causing evacuations of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions. The outbreak marked the beginning of the 62nd episode of the current east rift zone eruption, which began in January 1983. That evening, Hawaii Governor David Ige activated the state National Guard to help with the evacuation process.
The next day, May 4, the first two homes were reported destroyed in Leilani Estates from three erupting vents. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency reported high levels of toxic sulfur dioxide gas in the area, and Talmadge Magno, the Civil Defense Administrator for Hawaii County, stated that power lines had melted off the poles due to heat. The Puna Geothermal Venture, a geothermal power station, was shut down, and a Temporary Flight Restriction area was put in place by the FAA to place restrictions on flights below 3,000 feet AGL over the eruption area.
