Kilauea: Biggest eruption so far, residents ordered to shelter in place, gas masks issued

USGS

Ash covers an information panel near the summit of Kilauea as gases and ash continues to spew forth af Thursday's massive eruption.

UPDATED MAY 18, 9:30 a.m. PST

THE BIGGEST eruption since Hawaii’s Kilauea began rumbling two weeks ago occured Thursday morning. Residents ordered to take shelter as the volcano sends a plume of ash 30,000-feet into the sky and masks were handed out to locals.

Residents near Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii woke up early Thursday morning to the biggest explosion yet that prompted an order from the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency to shelter in place.

At about 5 a.m. Thursday (May 17), the Hawaii County CDA sent out a tweet ordering residents to shelter in place.

A Code Red alert has been issued to air traffic warning pilots to stay away from the area.

The USGS has alerted locals to evacuate the area, as giant rocks are sent flying into the air. As of Friday morning, the USGS report that seismic levels have been gradually increasing but "no additional explosions have occurred."

USGS officials warn that sulfer dioxide continues to seep from the 21 fissures creeping away from the Kilauea summit that may cause choking and difficulty in breathing. The shelter-in-place warning remains in effect.

Hawaii Volcano Observatory officials confirmed that there was an explosive eruption, but they still have yet to assess whether it was a steam-driven explosion that had been previously predicted in the area. 

The state Civil Defense agency said the plume was drifting northeast and warned residents to shelter in place. Driving conditions may be dangerous due to low visibility, the agency warned.

RELATED: Hawaiians muster up 'ohana'

"At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent," the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Kilauea status page.

The steam-driven explosion occurred within Halema’uma’u Crater at Kilauea's summit at about 4:17 a.m. local time, and few Big Island residents were out and about.

After the massive explosion, 18,000 masks that protect from particulates like ash were given out Thursday. More masks are on the way for those choosing not to evacuate.

The masks do not protect against sulfur dioxide, a toxic gas that is still seeping from 21 fissures caused by volcanic activity. No new fissures, or vents in the ground, opened Thursday, he said.

Scientists with the USGS have not yet figured out the cause of explosions like the one that happened Thursday morning but they expect them to continue.

"At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent," the USGS said. "

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Scenes from the Kilauea disaster, Hawaiians muster ohana

USGS

An eruption along one lava flow going through the Leilani Estates community.

(UPDATED May 17, 8:30 PST)

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake shook the volcano's main caldera of Kilauea Volcano, damaging roads and buildings in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park and nearby communities. Earlier, ash plumes led to an aviation red alert and raised the threat of acid rain and volcanic smog or "vog" from toxic sulfur dioxide gas that spews forth from the earth along with the lava.

After two weeks of very active volcanic eruptions, new lava flows and fissures emitting noxious gases, Kilauea shows no signs of abating. The largest emission occurred Tuesday (May 16) spewing ashes and gas 1200 feet into the air. Kilauea's activity also created a 4.4 earthquake prompting scientists to issue a red alert warning.

United States Geological Survey scientists from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory still say a massive eruption is still a possibiity. Located on the eastern side of the Big Island, about 2000 people have been evacuated and thousands more remain alert to leave their homes if necessary.

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Leilani Abaya and Kalani Strong thought they had found paradise when they moved to their home in Leilani Estates six months ago.

This week, they are packing up precious pictures, kitchen supplies and their kids' toys.

"There was a few times while we were down there where the sounds coming from the eruption was so enormous that it just stopped all of us that was there in our tracks," she said.

"One moment you break down crying, the next you're just counting your blessings and hugging those around you," Abaya tells KITV. "I feel it's been like that: a back and forth feeling since the moment we evacuated." 

SCREEN CAPTURE

Kalani Strong and Leilani Abaya: 'Fingers crossed.'

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Filipina/American Ashley Kierkiewicz helped launch the Pu’uhonua o Puna, shortly after the first volcanic eruption. Pu'uhonua o Puna acts as a collection and distribution agency for those displaced from the Kilauea eruptions and lava flows.

“In times of distress and trauma, the community really just pulls in together to take care of each other,” said Kierkiewicz.

Under a cluster of tents at the edge of the affected area, there are stacks of food and clothing people have been donating, bringing them in on pickups and other vehicles. Most of the staff is made up of evacuees volunteering at the site. '

“Everything the you see here is a result of people’s kindness and generosity. We’re 100% community driven and funded,” she said.

Every day, their Facebook page announces what the center needs, as well as verified accounts of displaced families’ GoFundMe accounts.

SCREEN CAPTUR/ Balitang America

Ashley Kierkiewicz helped organize relief efforts.

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At the beloved Keaukaha General Store, is also acting as a relief center for the almost 2,000 evacuees. 

Aristotle Sacramento is ready do his part to help his displaced neighbors from Leilani Estates. “Natural disasters you just can’t do anything too much about, but stay positive, get together, and be one.”

Already and local gathering place, since the eruptions began, the general store has been piling up with goods and donations from locals.

While their location is on safer ground 20 miles away from the lava zone, the store is not immune from the possibility of projectiles, and the poor air quality, but — it won’t stop store owners and workers from taking in items seven days a week.

SCREEN CAPTURE / Balitang America

Aristotle Sacramento, right, has helped turn his store into an assistance center.

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Hawaii state Representative Joy San Buenaventura, who represents a district by the volcano, led an April 28 town hall on disaster preparedness in the Pahoa community center - now one of the main evacuation centers.

“It was fortuitous that we had scheduled the forum, and I hope people took preparedness to heart,” the Filipina/American lawmaker told Reuters. “What we couldn’t prepare for was the amount and concentration of sulfur dioxide in the air.”

“Their life is kind of put on pause, they don’t know if they should quit their jobs or whether or not they can move back home and keep their jobs. They don’t know whether or not if they have to quit school because they can’t get to school if the lava keeps cutting them off, or the lava will end, which is what happened 2014 and they can move back home.

While Leilani Estates gets most of the impact, San Buenaventura told Balitang America that she is concerned that continued activity may impact the livelihood of a large Filipino farming community.

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Hawaii state Rep. Joy San Beunaventura approaches a fissure splitting open a road.

“If it crosses this way, which is what they’re expecting because the riff zone goes this way and if it goes towards Kapoho village which is the most eastern portion of the state, if it goes that way which is expected then you’ll see the papaya farms over here being decimated.”

"We really don't know the extent of the damage and whether or not people can actually rebuild,"  San Buenaventura told NBC News. 

Another question, she said, "is whether or not you should rebuild" in areas more likely to see lava flows.

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Meanwhile, Abaya, who fled her home in Leilani Estates, was unable to get renters insurance from three different companies because the area is in lava zone 1. The home where she and her family were staying is so far still standing, she said.

"I feel like we're coming to terms that, you know, that house may be taken and you know that we definitely need to restart our lives," Abaya said this week.

Abaya and her family initially evacuated to Oceanside, about two-and-a-half hours away. Abaya and her 6-year-old son planned to stay in a tent on a friend's property in Hilo — he goes to school in Hilo, and she works at the University of Hawaii in Hilo.

"Fingers crossed," she said.

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Scientists warn of possible huge, once-in-a century eruption of Kilauea volcano

USGS

A lava lake forms in one of Kiluaea craters.

SCIENTISTS are warning of the possibility that the volcanic activity generated by Kilauea Volcano could result in a violent eruption spewing huge boulders towards neighboring communities.

More residents of nearby communities began preparing for evacuation to join neighbors from Leilani Estates who have already fled from their neighborhood that is in the path of lava flows.

Scientists of the United States Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory think conditions could be right for a major explosion within a few days. The last time that happened was in 1924, it blasting rock and ash more than five miles into the air.

Tina Neal, who's in charge of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told reporters that the the city of Hilo - 25 miles northeast of Kilauea - could be exposed to volcanic air pollution and a coating of ash should the explosive eruptions begin and prevailing wind directions shift.

The scientists, however, said they were uncertain exactly when the new eruption would occur, how long it would last or how violent it would be.

"Steam-driven explosions at volcanoes typically provide very little warning," said uthe HVO scientist.

It said the "projectiles" emerging from the crater could range from pebbles to rocks weighing several tons.

The steady lowering of the lava lake in "Overlook crater" within Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano has raised the potential for explosive eruptions in the coming weeks, reports the USGS website.

The USGS also warns that if the lava column drops to the level of groundwater beneath Kīlauea Caldera, the influx of water into the conduit could cause steam-driven explosions. 

All 1900 residents of Leilani Estates and Laipuna Garden areas, around 25 miles east of the crater, have been evacuated. Lava flows have already destroyed almost 40 structures in that community.

The fumes of steam and sulfur dioxide and ash spewing forth from the lava flows and the crater may cause irritation but shouldn't cause any long-term health problems.

The symptoms of an exposure to toxic gas is similar to an asthma attack, said Hazel Tagalicud, a nurse in Hilo. 

“They both cause respiratory problems, kind of similar symptoms, your chest tightening, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, coughing almost the same as an asthma attack.”

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Evacuees fleeing Kilauea gather at a makeshift shelter.

No one lives in the immediate area near the volcano's crater. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is being closed Friday (May 10) and tourists are being told not to come to the area. 

On Monday night, a community meeting was held at Pahoa High School where officials gave updates to hundreds of residents, but also issued more warnings and telling residents to be ready to evacuate.

“There’s still plenty magma under the ground, seismicity is still up. We got more cracking on 130 that’s why Highway 130 is shut down,” said Talmadge Magno. “So we’re not done with this yet.”

One of the areas that would be directly affected if Highway 130 shuts down are the Puna and Pahoa areas, where 1300 Filipinos live, according to reports from Balitang America.

Taglicud and her family live in Pahao, just a few miles from the eruption. And  Wednesday, after Lanipuna gardens residents were asked to evacuate, they began making preparations for evacuating. 

“Just packing all the important and valuables that we have. Just in case we have to evacuate. We carried all the boxes to the car,” said Taglicud.

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