© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
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Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupts
The disaster mitigation agency asked residents living within a radius of 5 km (3 mile) to move to safer locations and shelters.
After columns of ash and volcanic material as high as 5,500 meter (18,000 ft) were noticed, the airport in Yogyakarta, the nearest big city to the volcano, was also shut down, reported Reuters.
© U.S. Geological SurveyCREEPING FIRE Lava flowing from new fissures along the eastern flank of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano engulfed part of Makamae Street in a housing subdivision on May 6.
Cracks open in the ground. Lava creeps across roads, swallowing cars and homes. Fountains of molten rock shoot up to 70 meters high, catching treetops on fire.
After a month of rumbling warning signs, Kilauea, Hawaii's most active volcano, began a new phase of eruption last week. The volcano spewed clouds of steam and ash into the air on May 3, and lava gushed through several new rifts on the volcano's eastern slope. Threatened by clouds of toxic sulfur dioxide-laden gas that also burst from the rifts, about 1,700 residents of a housing subdivision called Leilani Estates were forced to flee their homes, which sat directly in the path of the encroaching lava.
The event marks the 62nd eruption episode along Kilauea's eastern flank, which is really part of an ongoing volcanic eruption that started in 1983. The volcano is one of six that formed Hawaii's Big Island over the past million years. Mauna Loa is the largest and most central; Kilauea, Mauna Kea, Hualalai and Kohala occupy the island's edges. Mahukona is currently submerged. All six are shield volcanoes, with broad flanks composed of hardened lava flows.
Comment: The continued eruptions, lava flows and accompanying 'vog' are likely to have long term effects on Hawaii and perhaps even be a precursor to major changes around the entire ring of fire. We'll be keeping a close eye on these developments, so continue to check back for updates. See also:
- Lava outbreak triggers evacuations in Hawaii amid fears of imminent eruption
- Hawaii volcano triggers more evacuations as two new vents appear
- Lava fountains, tremors, fissures, toxic fumes: Hawaii braces itself as Kilauea boils over in unusual outburst
- Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Are Hawaii eruptions and earthquakes related to cosmic ray increases?
- Hawaii State of Emergency: Small Tsunami Followed Strongest Quake Since 1975 - SIX Fissures Have Opened up, Forcing Evacuations
© U.S. Geological Survey/Associated PressA column of thick, reddish-brown ash rises in the air on Friday from Hawaii volcano triggers more evacuations as two new vents appear in the Puʻu ʻŌʻō area after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook Hawaii’s big island.
Around 1,700 people have been evacuated and dozens of buildings, including 26 homes, have been destroyed since the volcano started erupting on Thursday.
On Tuesday, authorities issued a cellphone alert ordering the remaining residents of Lanipuna Gardens to immediately evacuate. The neighborhood is located to the east of Leilani Estates, where many homes have been already devoured by lava.
© Paradise helicoptersHomes destroyed, toxic gas concerns amid Hawaii volcano emergency
All 1,700 residents of Leilani Estates, as well as the smaller Lanipuna, had previously been ordered to evacuate. But that doesn't mean they all have.
"Some people are not complying," said Debra Weeks, director of disaster services at the American Red Cross in Hawaii County, regarding evacuation orders.
"They're putting themselves at risk. They're putting first responders at risk. ... If you know anyone still out there, encourage them to come in -- not only for their own safety, but for safety of the community.
"Hawaii County's civil defense said the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory indicated the two new vents -- the outlet for lava and other material to escape -- "are actively erupting.
"Meanwhile, some Leilani Estates residents were able to return home Monday to retrieve pets, medicine and vital documents. The home visits are expected to continue depending on conditions, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense. But no visits were permitted for residents of Lanipuna Gardens because of volcanic gases.
Comment: See also:
- Lava fountains, tremors, fissures, toxic fumes: Hawaii braces itself as Kilauea boils over in unusual outburst
- Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Are Hawaii eruptions and earthquakes related to cosmic ray increases?
- Hawaii State of Emergency: Small Tsunami Followed Strongest Quake Since 1975 - SIX Fissures Have Opened up, Forcing Evacuations
© U.S. Geological Survey via APIn this image released by the U.S. Geological Survey, steam rises from cracks in the road shortly before a fissure opened up on Kaupili Street in the Leilani Estates subdivision, Friday, May 4, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. The Kilauea volcano sent more lava into Hawaii communities Friday, a day after forcing more than 1,500 people to flee from their mountainside homes, and authorities detected high levels of sulfur gas that could threaten the elderly and people with breathing problems.
Lava spurted from volcanic vents, toxic gas filled the air and strong earthquakes - including a magnitude 6.9 temblor on Friday - rocked an already jittery population. The trifecta of natural threats forced the evacuation of more than 1,700 people from communities near the lava and prompted the closure of parks, college campuses and a section of the main road through the area on the Big Island's southern tip.
Five structures have burned and thousands of customers briefly lost power from one of the larger quakes.
Tesha "Mirah" Montoya, 45, said toxic fumes escaping from the lava vents weren't enough to make her family evacuate, but the tipping point were the earthquakes.
"I felt like the whole side of our hill was going to explode," she said. "The earthquake was what made us start running and start throwing guinea pigs and bunnies in the car."
Comment: For the low down on the unusual activity at Kilauea check out: Adapt 2030 Ice Age Report: Are Hawaii eruptions and earthquakes related to cosmic ray increases?
Also see:
- Huge steam vortices filmed above Hawaii's Kilauea volcano
- USGS reports Kilauea volcano wall collapse in Hawaii
- Lava lake at Kilauea volcano in Hawaii overflows
- Yellowstone's Steamboat geyser sees rare eruption weeks after tremor swarm (VIDEO)
- Fears Hawaii's Kilauea volcano will erupt at any moment following 250 earthquakes in the region in 24 hours
© YouTube/Adapt 2030 (screen capture)
Comment: Cosmic rays found to be a trigger for explosive volcanic eruptions. Another factor to consider is the slowdown in Earth's rotation:
- Scientists predict upsurge in major earthquakes for 2018 due to slowdown in Earth's rotation
- Volcanoes are erupting all over the place right now. Scientists have figured out why: A minute slowdown in the planet's rotation
- Slowdown in Earth's rotation means we're on the verge of major climatic upheaval
© Brett Ryder
And if the moon has such a strong effect on liquid water, well then, why shouldn't the ground be equally affected? Philosophers as far back as Pliny the Elder have speculated that the moon's movements across the sky might also be responsible for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Statisticians fought over the significance of the connection in the 19th century, and geophysicists of the 1970s and 80s kept the claim alive until lack of evidence finally pushed it out of the mainstream.
The current state of the field can best be summed up by an eye-catching paper published in January by Susan Hough. A seismologist with the United States Geological Survey, she had set out to answer an age-old question: does the timing of powerful earthquakes coincide with the phases of the moon? The abstract ran to one word: No.
Comment: Science is discovering there are multiple factors that contribute to the delicate balance of stability on Earth, a major aspect is the interaction between the bodies within our solar system, which recently been showing ominous signs of change:
- Last year's solar eclipse set off a wave in the upper atmosphere that was detected as far away as Brazil
- Not your imagination: New research shows the full moon does affect sleep
- Mystery of moon's magnetic field deepens
- Cosmic climate change: Is the cause of all this extreme weather to be found in outer space?
- Scientists predict upsurge in major earthquakes for 2018 due to slowdown in Earth's rotation
- Volcanoes are erupting all over the place right now. Scientists have figured out why: A minute slowdown in the planet's rotation
- Subtle second magnetic field surrounding Earth discovered
- Radon, slosh dynamics and Mount Etna's unrest
© USGS / Reuters
The US Geological Survey has upgraded the severity of the earthquake off the Big Island in Hawaii to a 6.9 on the Richter scale, roughly an hour after it was registered. According to the new USGS data, the extremely powerful tremor was registered 16km southwest of Leilani Estates, Hawaii, at a depth of 5.0 km.
The quake struck on the south flank of Kilauea Volcano at 12:33 local time and was followed by several aftershocks, according to the National Weather Service, as eruptions at the volcano continue. No Tsunami warning has been issued.
The tremor was the most powerful of a series of earthquakes that have been rocking the islands over the past days. No Tsunami warnings have been issued after the quake.
Comment: The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.9 was the largest Hawaii quake since the 1975 magnitude-7.1 earthquake, which killed two people. The two quakes were centred in almost exactly the same location. See also:
- Lava outbreak triggers evacuations in Hawaii amid fears of imminent eruption
- Fears Hawaii's Kilauea volcano will erupt at any moment following 250 earthquakes in the region in 24 hours
© volcanoes.usgs.gov
The lava outbreak has reached the Leilani Estates on the Hawaii island, forcing the County Civil Defense to issue evacuation orders to some 10,000 residents of Puna community into emergency shelter set up by the American Red Cross.
Residents from Luana Street to the end of Leilani Estates are being asked to vacate their homes, Civil Defense confirmed, according to Khon Channel 2. In addition, areas bordering the East Rift Zone, from Puu Oo crater down to Kapoho, also face a high risk, and are urged to prepare an emergency plan.
Steam and lava emissions are being reported from a crack in Leilani Subdivision in the area of Mohala Street, according to the Department of Public Works. "Residents in Leilani Estates Subdivision on Luana, Makamae, Ho'okupu, Kaupili, Mohala, and lower Leilani Streets down to Highway 132 are required to evacuate the area," authorities advised.
"So there is fountains of lava, tons of lava coming out. Sounds like a jet engine," Pohoa resident Ikaika Marzo said during a Facebook live broadcast, urging everyone in the area to help their community evacuate safely.
Comment: Earlier this week the volcano experienced 250 earthquakes in 24 hours, with similar activity recorded prior to previous eruptions in the area.
Also, this isn't 'lava flow' from existing craters out towards the sea; this is a new crack that has opened up and is spewing lava high into the air!
Comment: See also: