Lava fountains spew aggressively from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano (VIDEO)
Lava flows continue to persist from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii after the eruption and hundreds of earthquakes forced locals to flee the area. New footage shows molten rock surging relentlessly into the air in huge splatters.
The eruption began Thursday and was followed by a 6.9-magnitude quake the next day. Local authorities ordered the evacuation of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens on Hawaii's Big Island as lava started to flow towards residential areas.
Another very active day on Kilauea volcano with earthquakes occurring on nearly every part of the volcano. This map shows an amazing 477 earthquakes over the last 24 hours (as of noon HST May 5th). You can follow the earthquakes here: https://t.co/kIbVVKeB36pic.twitter.com/7Z8RQmpwmr
— USGS_Seismic (@usgs_seismic) May 5, 2018
At least five homes were destroyed on Saturday, after lava shot out of cracks in the ground.
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory said eight vents, each several hundred meters long, had opened in the neighborhood since Thursday. While activity at the existing vents is beginning to settle down, additional vents are expected to release more lava.
READ MORE: ‘Shaking side to side’: Hawaii’s massive 6.9 quake captured on VIDEOS
"Vents continue to open up, so we lost a few more structures," Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator Talmadge Magno said. "I'm pretty happy that we did evacuate the whole neighborhood and unfortunately some people are still in there and we need to get them out. The gases are still high."
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