Seismic activity continues to rattle Kīlauea volcano’s upper East Rift Zone

Unrest continues on the Big Island beneath Kīlauea Volcano’s upper East Rift Zone with more than 500 earthquakes detected in the past 24 hours, including 12 magnitude-3 or greater.

The largest earthquake in the elevated unrest sequence, that started on Monday, was a magnitude-3.9 today at 4:33 a.m. Additionally, four earthquakes were detected beneath Kaluapele, Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

The pulse of increased seismicity starting at around 10 a.m. Wednesday and another pulse starting at around 4 a.m. today. As of 8:45 a.m., Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials reported the pulse was still ongoing.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the seismicity and elevated ground deformation rates suggests magma may be slowly moving out of the summit storage region. Additional seismic pulses or swarms may occur with little or no warning and result in either continued intrusion of magma or eruption of lava.

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the middle and lower East Rift Zone and lower Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Recent eruptive activity and ongoing unrest have been restricted to the summit and upper rift zone regions.

While the Upper East Rift Zone seismicity has been elevated throughout the past 24 hours, there were two pulses of intense seismicity, representing the third and fourth pulses of the ongoing unrest sequence. The third pulse started at around 10 a.m. Thursday and was focused near Pauahi Crater (similar to the first two pulses).

The fourth pulse, focused on the area near the intersection of the Chain of Craters and Hilina Pali roads within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, started at around 4 a.m. and is ongoing.

The most recent measurement of the summit’s SO2 emission rate was approximately 65 tonnes per day on Tuesday.

A summary of the first three pulses of intense seismicity activity is provided here in an information statement published Wednesday afternoon.

An interferogram showing recent ground deformation patterns in the Upper East Rift Zone is available here.

Kīlauea erupted briefly on June 3, 2024, southwest of the summit region within a closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. For more information about this eruption, click here.