Powerful back-to-back earthquakes shook the island of Hawaii on Friday as lava from Kilauea volcano continued to erupt from cracks in streets in surrounding neighborhoods.
The first strong earthquake registered as a magnitude of 5.4 and originated at a depth of 4.29 miles on the south flank of Kilauea volcano. One hour later, a 6.9 earthquake struck near the same area at a depth of 3 miles.
There is currently no tsunami threat to the area, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.
The earthquakes struck less than 11 miles from the Leilani Estates subdivision, where at least four fissures have opened up, sending lava spewing into the streets on Thursday night.
After the earthquake, a fifth fissure opened up in Leilani Estates, erupting with more lava.
The subdivision is facing five separate eruptions from two fissures.
Officials evacuated residents of Leilani Estates and the subdivision of Lanipuna Gardens in the Puna district of the Big Island on Thursday afternoon after the fissures started to appear in the streets…..
Update…
Fresh volcanic eruptions on the southern end of the island of Hawaii after a series of tremors left residents displaced and frightened as the authorities evacuated the state’s largest park on Friday and worked to keep people out of two subdivisions that had been evacuated.
Following days of small earthquakes, a more powerful one with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the south flank of the volcano at 12:33 p.m. Hawaii time. There was no tsunami expected, according to a statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, but “many areas may have experienced strong shaking.”
That earthquake, which set off rock slides on park trails, forced park officials to close down and evacuate Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which encompasses 333,000 acres — 13 percent of the Big Island’s total area. Closing the park is a rare occurrence, Jessica Ferracane, a spokeswoman for the park, said on Friday afternoon…..
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