Hawaii volcano eruption: Earthquake hits Kilauea volcano – will Kilauea erupt again?

Earthquakes continue to rock Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, more than five months after a power magnitude 6.9 quake shook the Big Island.

The major tremor on May 4 at Kilauea triggered a devastating eruption which left parts of the southeastern corner of the Big Island unrecognisable and covered in a thick layer of lava, as molten oozed from several fissures on the southern flank.

The lava forced the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people and destroyed at least 36 structures, including 26 homes in the rural Leilani Estates neighbourhood area about 35 miles from Hilo, the island’s largest city and about 25 miles from the volcano’s crater.

The quake was the largest to hit the state in 43 years and even now smaller-magnitude earthquakes in the same area are still occurring.

The US Geological Survey said: “Most earthquakes are caused by patches of rock slipping along a fault plane within the Earth’s crust.

“The area and the distance of slip relate directly to the energy release (magnitude) of the earthquake.”

The latest tremors to hit the island were a series of small magnitude quakes, measuring magnitude 2.5, 2.7 and 2.8, in the space of less than 24 hours.

However these are nothing on the scale of the May 4 magnitude 6.9 quake which struck shortly after midday.

The quake was major enough to be felt across the state and it even generated a minor tsunami along the coast and was preceded by a series of other large tremors.

The USGS said: “The sequence of larger events started with a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 10.30am local time on May 3.

“A day later, at 11.32am on May 4, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake then claimed the titled as mainshock.

“One hour later, at 12.32pm, the eventual mainshock of the sequence occurred – the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rattled the island with enough intensity to knock items off the shelves in Hilo stores.

“It was also felt statewide and produced a modest tsunami along nearby coastlines.”

The USGS said the smaller aftershocks are still as a result of the huge 6.9 quake which still has geological echoes in the region.

Kilauea’s activity has significantly reduced and no active lava has been recorded at the surface of the volcano since September 5.

The Hawaii Volcano Observatory lowered the Volcano Alert for Kilauea from Watch to Advisory and lowered the volcano’s Aviation Colour Code from Orange to Yellow.

The eruption closed Hawaii’s top tourist attraction, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, for more than four months, but it has since reopened.

Heavy volcano activity has now subsided and cruise itineraries are back to normal.

Executive director Ross Birch of Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau said: “Now may be the best time ever to come.

“What happened over the last three months is something we haven’t seen in over 100 years.”