Hawaii volcano: Series of huge earthquakes hit island amid more Mount Kilauea eruptions

Tom Powell5 May 2018

A series of huge earthquakes have hit Hawaii’s Big Island following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake, which struck south-east of the volcano, was the most powerful to hit the US state since 1975.

It came as any remaining residents in the Puna area were forced to evacuate their homes on Friday, as fresh lava spewed into the air in bursts of fire.

Several homes were burned and fissures on streets were caused by lava being pushed to the surface.

Hawaii: Kilauea Volcano - In pictures

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Scientists were processing data from the earthquakes to see if they were affecting the eruption, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spokeswoman Janet Babb said.

"The magma moving down the rift zones, it causes stress on the south flank of the volcano," she said. "We're just getting a series of earthquakes."

State Senator Russell Ruderman said he has experienced many earthquakes, but the magnitude-5.4 temblor that hit first "scared the heck out of me".

A plume of ash rises from the Mount Kilauea volcano after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck
EPA

When the larger quake followed, he said he felt strong shaking in Hilo, the island's largest city that is roughly 45 minutes from the rural Puna area.

"We're all rattled right now," he said. "It's one thing after another. It's feeling kind of stressful out here."

Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983 and is one of five volcanoes that make up the Big Island. Activity picked up earlier this week, indicating a possible new lava outbreak.

The crater floor began to collapse on Monday, triggering earthquakes and pushing the lava into new underground chambers.

The collapse caused magma to push more than 10 miles downslope toward the populated southeast coastline.

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