**BREAKING** 2 x Magnitude 5.4 & 6.9 earthquakes just hit same Hawaii Island as active volcano.

Could it erupt and cause far worse eruption and earthquake than 6.9?

a reply to: Jobeycool

It is erupting. Kilauea has been erupting for more than 30 years. What has happened is that the vent location has been relocated (to the middle of a subdivision). The earthquakes are the result of the movement of magma, not vice versa.

a reply to: Jobeycool

It's possible, I'd wager.

Tho I think it is unlikely. The lava flow is only bubbling up at the lowest point, there isn't enough at this point to push out the main pipe unless there is another massive earthquake, and a massive lava shift.

I'd appreciate thoughts on the following video. Does anyone think it's as bad as she said?




FYI - here's a screenshot of Pu'U O'o:

a reply to: dianajune

It would be a very good idea for residents of Leilani Estates to leave before the road gets buried under lava.

a reply to: Phage

What is interesting is the news reports of the number of people without cell or internet before this incident occurred.

Rather interesting.

a reply to: dianajune

The odds of complete flank collapse are infinitismally tiny.

That doesn't mean that there may not be a part of the flank that falls in a landslide, but that kind of catastrophic, megatsunami situation is about as likely as a supervolcanic eruption would be anywhere in the world.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: dianajune

It would be a very good idea for residents of Leilani Estates to leave before the road gets buried under lava.

I thought that already started....at least one road blocked because of the lava flow.

I hope it won't be nearly as bad as some say.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: dianajune

The odds of complete flank collapse are infinitismally tiny.

That doesn't mean that there may not be a part of the flank that falls in a landslide, but that kind of catastrophic, megatsunami situation is about as likely as a supervolcanic eruption would be anywhere in the world.

The collapse she referred to as a possibility reminds me of a similar claim that was made awhile back re. Las Palmas, only this would be on a much smaller scale.

Let's hope it doesn't get even close to that.

a reply to: dianajune

In this abstract, it is mentioned that the 1975 event could actually have made the flank more stable.

Our objective is to produce a mechanically realistic model for the 1975 Kalapana event that explains the overall deformation and geological evolution of the south flank of Kilauea, and reproduces most known earthquake and tsunami observations. To do this, we present a new structural interpretation of geological data from Kilauea, along with modeling of the tsunami using recent seismic analyses. In so doing, we hypothesize an offshore north-facing normal fault that we call the Kalapana fault, because of its limited onshore expression near Kalapana. We argue that several different interpretations of seismic data are simultaneously true, each coinciding with a specific geological structure. We perform a direct numerical simulation of the 1975 Kalapana tsunami, and we report results for the near field and the far field simultaneously. Our interpretation of geological structures provides sufficient constraints to derive three tsunami sources: the Kalapana fault, a slump, and a thrust fault. These three tsunami sources are mechanically coupled according to our model of Kilauea evolution, although their contributions to tsunami generation remain relatively distinct. Slump displacement predicts a small shear stress beneath Kilauea volcano. We find that our geological interpretation and tsunami sources are sufficiently robust to reproduce almost all tsunami observations. Repeated earthquakes like the 1975 Kalapana event will produce extension and subsidence in the upper flank of Kilauea, as well as compression and uplift of the toe region, accompanied by limited slump movement. These deformations appear to stabilize Kilauea and make catastrophic failure of the volcano flank less likely at this time.

That doesn't necessarily mean they 100% nailed it, of course, but it does mean they think future events are more likely to make the flank more stable and a collapse less likely.

Another FYI - here's a short video taken during the quake. There is rough language:

a reply to: dianajune

1. I think she needs to put her teeth in when shes doing videos.

2. Yes anyone in the immediate vicinity of the volcano or lava flows should probably relocate..

3. Though this sucks and its bad, I dont reckon its going to be the destruction of Hawaii like she is touting

Various places are now saying there are 6 fissures.

originally posted by: ketsuko
Various places are now saying there are 6 fissures.

Yes, six fissures open is the word on the island.

An additional crater, Halema'uma'u, has apparently had an explosion: www.hawaiinewsnow.com...

I've heard many, many rumors on the island today, everything from Rainbow Falls suffering a partial collapse, rockslides in various areas along the highways, even water receding in Hilo Bay. Someone even showed me a video of the water being sucked out of Waikea earlier, which was pretty concerning.

Volcanoes National Park is closed, and the gas stations appear to be zoos, at least the the 2 I passed on the way home from work. Stores like WalMart and Costco are doing a booming business.

All in all, it has been an interesting day on Big Island.

a reply to: ketsuko

Been following this YT channel.
m.youtube.com...
"Big Island vidoe News"
Screen cap if it helps.

I saw an animation of how the Islands have evolved and will eventually disappear. Interesting and sad at the same time.

originally posted by: Sublimecraft

originally posted by: notsure1
is it 6.9 or 5.4 thats a huge difference.

Both - there have been 2 quakes in less than 120 minutes (afaik).

If you all haven't seen it yet, look at Hawaii on this site: earthquake.usgs.gov...

Move the map to Hawaii, and check the scroll on the left side.

There have been an appalling amount of earthquakes on Big Island today, many over a 3.0 up to the 6.9. 4's, 5's, not to mention the upper 2's and 3's. Been feeling like I was on a boat several times today.

a reply to: VariableConstant

The explosion(s) at Halema`uma`u (no okina on da keyboard) were most likely due to rock falls resulting from the quake.
It did also produce a small local tsunami, recorded at Hilo.
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov...< br />
(The display is realtime, you may have to change the date to see 5/04/18. Star Wars day! May the forth be with you!)

So the pressure loss caused the ground to move down. Will this affect other areas? Kind of like a pebble in a bucket of water causing waves. I don't know if its to minute but will watch for activity coordinated roughly the same distance from Hawaiia and the same time.
Any thought by an expert appreciated

reply to: ketsuko

a reply to: jlafleur02

The movement of magma underground causes the land above it to shift. The summit of Kilauea has been "deflating" while the area of the current venting has been "inflating" for the past week. The earthquakes are caused by the these movements.