Earthquakes on the east side

As a consequence of the eruption occurring in the Puna District, earthquakes have been quite frequent on the island. In the last 24 hours there have been 269 earthquakes in the Puna District. The largest was a 6.9 earthquake which generated a very small local tsunami. On the west side of the island we felt the shaking, but by no means close to that which was experienced on the east side. As I was sitting working on the computer the chair started to shake. The shaking was no where near as intense as the 6.8 quake in 2006 which occurred on this side. But it did persist for about 30 seconds which was an indication that it was intense somewhere on the island. Services were, in fact, disrupted on the east side of the island.

As of this writing, 6 fissures in the Puna District have extruded lava. The entire Leilani Subdivision has been under mandatory evacuation.It does appear that this activity will subside soon.

Pele is on the move

After several days of almost continuous earthquake activity, an eruption has occurred on the southeastern part od Hawaii Island. Residents said for days the ground never stopped shaking. This afternoon a rift opened up in Leilani Estates which is just east of Kalapana, for those who are familiar with past eruptions. Fountaining along the rift has occurred and a mandatory evacuation has been ordered for a portion of Leilani subdivision.

It has been quite a few years since a new rift has opened up in the Puna district. However, the Puna district is on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano and eruptions there are not unexpected. Residents live with the knowledge that eruptions are probable.