More fissures open, 9 structures destroyed from lava in Leilani EstatesPUNA (KHON2) - LATEST VIDEO: Howard Dashefsky reports from the first checkpoint and donation center at Leilani Estates.
After a slight reprieve Saturday afternoon, activity increased during the night along Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone,
Additional fissure vents producing spatter and small lava flows developed Saturday night into Sunday morning within the Leilani Estates subdivision. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirmed 2 more fissures emerged between Leilani and Malama Street near Luana and Kupono Street Saturday night.
At the time of this post, there are 10 open fissure vents in the area.
Active venting of lava and hazardous fumes continues between Mohala and Pomaikai Street.
Hawaii County said the lava burned more structures Sunday, bringing the total confirmed destroyed to nine.
County officials are allowing Leilani Estates residents with property between Highway 130 and Maile Street to enter the subdivision to complete the evacuation of pets, medicine, and vital documents left behind.
Residents will be required to provide identification and proof of residency in Leilani Subdivision.
Residents of Lanipuna Gardens are not able to enter their homes due to dangerous volcanic gases.
"Vents continue to open up, so we lost a few more structures," Magno said on Saturday. "I'm pretty happy that we did evacuated the whole neighborhood and unfortunately some people are still in there and we need to get them out. The gases are still high."
Magno says first responders were also affected by the toxic gas.
"The officers and firefighters that were out there on the first night, the gasses were really high. Usually it's not long lasting. You can recover from it, but they went home with headaches and so forth, but that's part of the exposure," he said.
County officials are working on a plan to allow as many residents to return to their homes to retrieve additional belongings as possible, should conditions allow.
"We've been getting a lot of requests for this, and so we're going to try and make it happen," Magno said. "We've got to be careful, because the SO2 levels are still pretty high. There is a section in there that we won't be able to let people in, because there have been levels that aren't suitable. So the areas that have the lower levels, we'll try to get the residents in there so they can take care of stuff, but we're not going to let them stay. We still want them to come out.
"We gotta make sure we vet everybody as far as making sure that the actual residents or homeowners or renters are going in there and nothing else is happening," he added.
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(Courtesy: County of Hawaii)
Click here for interactive map
Meanwhile, the lava lake level at the summit of the volcano continues to drop.
There is no active lava in the Puu Oo area. Aftershocks from yesterday's M6.9 earthquake continue and more should be expected, with larger aftershocks potentially producing rockfalls and associated ash clouds above Puu Oo and Halemaumau Crater.
Residents of the Puna District should remain alert, review individual, family, and business emergency plans, and watch for further information about the status of the volcano.
Summit Observations: Deflationary tilt at the summit continues. In concert, the summit lava lake is dropping. Tremor amplitude is fluctuating with lava lake spattering. No large rockfalls or ash plumes related to rockfalls into the lava lake, such as occurred yesterday during the large earthquake sequence, have occurred. Elevated summit sulfur dioxide emission rates persist. Gas emissions remain elevated.
Puu Oo Observations: Seismicity remains elevated at Puu Oo but tiltmeters near the cone show no significant deformation overnight. No lava is active in the area and the 61g lava flow is no longer being fed. The summit crater of the cone will likely continue to collapse intermittently producing small plumes of ash. Yesterday, there were several vigorous episodes of ash emission in response to collapse, including immediately after the nearby M6.9 earthquake.
Hazard Analysis: Additional fissure outbreaks producing spatter and lava flows are likely. Locations cannot be forecast with certainty, but new outbreaks thus far have been preceded by ground cracking, then strong steam and volcanic gas release. Areas uprift and downrift of the current fissure zone are the most likely to see further outbreaks.
Areas downslope of an erupting fissure or vent are at risk of lava inundation. Currently, lava flows from active fissures are sluggish and not moving very quickly or far. The general area of the Leilani subdivision remains at greatest risk. However, as the eruption progresses, other areas of the lower East Rift Zone may also be at risk.
High levels of volcanic gas including sulfur dioxide are being emitted from the fissure vents. In addition, smoke from burning houses and burning asphalt is a health concern and should be avoided.
As the lava lake level inside Halemaumau drops, rockfalls from the enclosing walls may increase in frequency prompting explosions of spatter from the lake onto the nearby crater rim and lofting plumes of ash. Dustings of ash from these events can occur downwind. Yesterday's strong earthquakes were responsible for some of these plumes and associated ashfall, both from Kilauea Volcano's summit lava lake and the Puu Oo vent.
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Community Alerts
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirms the volcanic eruption continues in Leilani Subdivision in the Puna District. Active volcanic vents are located on Makamae, Kaupili, Mohala, Kahukai Streets and Pohoiki Road. Two new vents have opened near Makamae and Leilani, and on Kahukai Street. There is no activity at Puna Geothermal Venture at this time.
All residents of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens Subdivision are on evacuation notice. Police, Fire and County agencies along with the National Guard are assisting with evacuation.
Due to the eruption, the following are issued:
Department of Water Supply reports an Emergency Water Restriction is now in effect for Leilani Estates, Kapoho Beach Lots, Lanipuna Gardens, Pohoiki Bay Estates, Green Lake Farm Lots, Vacationland and all customers on Pohoiki and Kalapana Kapoho Beach Roads. ALL Water Supply customers must immediately restrict water use to health and safety needs only.
Water spigots have been installed near the entrance of Lava Tree State Park and a water tanker has been placed in Vacationland for the public to access.
Hawai'i Police Department reports Leilani Estates remains inaccessible to the public. Checkpoints have been set up in the surrounding perimeter at: 130/132, 132/Ka Ulu Laau Rd., 132/137, 137/Pohoiki, 130/Kamaili, 130/12mm, 130/14mm, 132/Pohoiki. Residents should consult with the police officers on duty for road accessibility, as conditions are subject to change.
Hawaii Fire Department reports extremely dangerous air quality conditions due to high levels of sulfur dioxide gas in the evacuation area. Elderly, young, and people with compromised respiratory systems are especially vulnerable.
The high levels detected are an immediate threat to life for all who become exposed. First responders may not be able to come to the aid of residents who refuse to evacuate.
The area continues to be unstable with multiple volcanic eruptions happening. No one is allowed into the area. Do not attempt to return to your home at this time.
video
Vents along Kilauea's East Rift Zone...
Evacuation Shelters
Two American Red Cross shelters remain open for residents evacuated from their homes due to the Kilauea lava threat at the following locations:
Pahoa Community Center (15-3022 Kauhale Street, Pāhoa, HI 96778)
Keaau Community Center (16-186 Pili Mua St, Keaau, HI 96749)
As of noon Saturday, there were 152 people at the Pahoa Community Center with another 40 to 50 people staying in their cars in the parking lot, and 24 people at the Keaau Community Center shelter.
On Friday night, there were 157 people at the Pahoa Community Center and 27 people at the Keaau Community Center, with another 40 to 50 people staying in their cars in the parking lot.
The Red Cross recommends that people prepare their emergency kits for 14 days and bring their emergency supplies with them to shelters.
Water - 1 gallon per person per day
Food - non-perishable
Flashlight
Radio -NOAA Weather Radio
Extra batteries
First aid kit
Medications & Medical items
Manual Can opener
Multi-purpose tool
Personal hygiene items
Copies of Documents (prescriptions, proof of address, deed/lease to home, insurance policies and proof of identity
Cell phone with chargers
Family Contact Information
Cash
Bedding
Change of clothes
Towels
Dishes
You may also need:
Baby supplies - bottles, baby food & diapers
Games and activities
Comfort items
Pet supplies - collar, leash, ID, food, water, carrier, bowl & medications
County officials are asking the public to refrain from dropping off any monetary, in-kind, or food donations, including prepared food donations at the shelters.
Officials are working with The Salvation Army and community and business partners to set up a donation distribution center in Puna. The location is to be determined.
Arrangements for organized donations will be announced in the coming days by The Salvation Army.
Call The Salvation Army at (808) 756-0306 for more information.
Closures
The earthquake activity has prompted the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks to close its Lava Tree State Monument and Mackenzie State Recreation Area until further notice. Gates to these parks will be locked and closure signs posted.
Kaiser Permanente closed its Hilo clinic. A spokeswoman confirms it has no power, water, or phone service.
Due to volcanic and seismic activity, the University of Hawaii at Hilo closed its Hilo campus facilities to allow students and employees to attend to personal business and priorities.
Individuals should feel safe to remain on campus in buildings, including students living in residence halls. All structures on campus were designed and built to resist seismic ground motion per County code and State requirements.
Campus will reopen Saturday, May 5, and continue with normal operations, including the library and student life center hours, if there is no additional seismic activity.
Hawaii Community College's Manono Campus was also closed. Students who had scheduled exams at the Hale Kea Advancement and Testing Center should contact their instructors.
The Department of Education closed multiple Puna schools Friday including:
Pahoa Elementary & Intermediate
Pahoa High School
Keonepoko Elementary
Kua O Ka La New Century Public Charter School
Ka Umeke Kaeo
Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science Public Charter School
Five charter schools will remain closed Monday, May 7:
Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Sciences Public Charter School (PCS)
Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo PCS
Ke Ana Laʻahana PCS
Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu Iki LPCS and
Kua o ka Lā New Century PCS (will also be closed on Tuesday)
Bank of Hawaii has closed six of its East Hawaii branches Friday, which include Kaikoo, Kau, Waiakea, Pahoa, KTA Puainako and Safeway Hilo. All six branches will remain closed until further notice.
The bank’s call center, based in Kapolei on Oahu, will remain open to assist customers and can be reached at 643-3888. Online and mobile banking and ATM services will continue to operate unless power interruptions are experienced.
First Hawaiian Bank Pahoa Branch at Government Main Road was also closed Friday due to unsafe environmental conditions. Hilo, Kamuela and Kona branches will be open for normal Saturday banking hours until 1 p.m. All other Big Island First Hawaiian Bank Branches to remain open.
U.S. Postal Service Impacted
The Hilo Downtown Post Office, located in the Hilo Federal Building at 154 Waianuenue Avenue, has been temporarily closed. The entire building was shut down due to structural concerns in the wake of the earthquakes that have accompanied the eruption. Beginning Saturday May 5, and until further notice, Hilo Downtown’s PO Box customers are asked to pick up their mail over the counter at the Hilo Main Post Office at 1299 Kekuanaoa Street. A line in the Main Post Office’s lobby will be dedicated to those customers.
Due to the expansion of the eruption, residents of now-inaccessible Pahoa-Kapoho Road, Papaya Farms, Vacationland, Kapoho Beach, Kapoho-Kalapana Road, Seaview, Puna Palisades, Kehena, Kalapana Shores, Uncle Roberts, Kalapana-Pahoa Road, Chain of Craters Road, and Black Sands are now being asked to pick up their mail from the Pahoa Post Office at 15-2859 Pahoa Village Road.
The Postal Service had previously requested that residents of the evacuated areas of Leilani Estates, Lanipuna Gardens and Pohoiki Road pick up their mail from the Pahoa Post Office.
USPS also advises that all residents who have evacuated in response to the eruption, whether from the officially evacuated neighborhoods or other nearby areas, submit Change of Address forms so that their mail can be redirected to them in a timely manner.
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