First, it was Tropical Storm Iselle. Now, it’s lava wending its way down the slope of Kilauea toward housing subdivisions and essential infrastructure. Residents of Hawaii Island, especially those who live in the Puna District, have spent considerable time and
First, it was Tropical Storm Iselle. Now, it’s lava wending its way down the slope of Kilauea toward housing subdivisions and essential infrastructure. Residents of Hawaii Island, especially those who live in the Puna District, have spent considerable time and money preparing for impending emergencies in recent months.
With people still recovering from Iselle, and many more on edge about the potential impacts of Kilauea volcano’s active lava flow, we are reluctant to remind Hawaii residents of yet another hazard that could strike the island — a devastating earthquake. We mention it now only because of an upcoming earthquake awareness and preparedness event, the Great Hawaii ShakeOut, that will take place Oct. 16.
The goal of this event is to encourage residents statewide to learn and practice “Drop! Cover! Hold on!” — actions that that have been proved to prevent or reduce injury during an earthquake.
You can learn about “Drop! Cover! Hold on!” through the Great Hawaii ShakeOut website — shakeout.org/hawaii, which includes helpful resources, such as “Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions in Hawaii.” These recommendations describe how to protect yourself during an earthquake, no matter where you are.
The Great Hawaii ShakeOut website also provides information on other steps you should take to prepare for Hawaii’s next big earthquake, such as organizing an emergency kit, developing an evacuation plan for your family and securing household objects that might fall.
Unlike hurricanes and lava flows, which arrive with forewarning, a large earthquake could strike Hawaii at any time with no notice. In fact, the probability of a magnitude 6.5 or higher earthquake occurring in the Hawaiian Islands in the next 10 years is 50 percent. So, it’s not a matter of if a large, destructive earthquake will happen, but when it will take place.
Since 1868, more than 30 magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes have impacted residents across the state. To learn more about these earthquakes, view the slide show “Earthquakes in Hawaii: What you need to know” on the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website — hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
Two talks about earthquakes in Hawaii will be presented by HVO seismologists in the coming weeks. Paul Okubo will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Sciences and Technology Building, Room 108, at University of Hawaii at Hilo. Wes Thelen will speak at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Old Kona Airport Park’s Makaeo Events Pavilion in Kailua-Kona. Both talks are free and open to the public. For details, visit HVO’s website or call 967-8844.
We do not wish to increase anxiety during an already stressful time for many residents of Hawaii Island, but because Hawaii has a long history of destructive earthquakes, we would be remiss to not promote the Great Hawaii ShakeOut as a time to prepare for the possibility of a large earthquake.
We hope you will take a moment Oct. 16 to think about and practice “Drop! Cover! Hold on!” Knowing what to do will be the key to protecting yourself during our next damaging earthquake, and the Great Hawaii ShakeOut is the perfect opportunity to increase your awareness of and preparedness for earthquake hazards.
Speaking of hazard awareness, we continue to encourage Puna residents to stay informed about Kilauea volcano’s active lava flow. Daily updates, as well as recent maps and photos, are posted online by HVO and on the Hawaii County Civil Defense website at hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts.
Another way to keep informed about Kilauea and other Hawaiian volcanoes is through Volcano Activity Notices distributed through the USGS Volcano Notification Service. This free service sends notification emails about volcanic activity happening at monitored volcanoes in the United States. Sign up at volcanoes.usgs.gov/vns.
Kilauea activity update
The June 27 lava flow from Puu Oo remained active on Kilauea volcano’s east rift zone, but advancement was sluggish. By Sept. 20, the flow front had stalled 1.4 miles from Apaa Street. Breakouts upslope of the front reached the stalled flow front on Wednesday, and extended the leading edge of the flow a short distance. By Thursday, the flow front was 1.4 miles from Apaa Street. Within the Puu Oo crater, glow was visible above several small outgassing openings in the crater floor.
The summit lava lake within Halemaumau Crater produced nighttime glow visible via HVO’s webcam over the past week. After dropping to low levels with summit deflation more than a week ago, the lava lake rose with inflation over the past week, and was roughly 115 feet below the rim of the overlook crater as of this writing (Thursday).
One earthquake on Hawaii Island was reported felt during the past week. At 7:51 a.m. Sept. 26, a magnitude 2.4 earthquake occurred 1.4 miles north of Honaunau at a depth of 6 miles.
Visit the HVO website for past Volcano Watch articles and current Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai activity updates, recent volcano photos and earthquake information; call 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askhvo@usgs.gov.
Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
