New fissures open up near Hawaiian volcano

LEILANI ESTATES — The Kilauea volcano, the most active in Hawaii, was highly unstable yesterday as lava spouted into the air and fissures emitted deadly gases — hazards that have forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Eight fissures have opened so far, the most recent one late Saturday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported at 9:40 GMT on Sunday.

All are in or near Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens areas, where over 1,500 residents were ordered to evacuate.

The observatory, part of the US Geological Survey (USGS), said new crevices were spotted on Sunday morning but "no heat or escaping steam" was detected.

While lava continued to erupt intermittently in the Leilani Estates area — with red-hot lava fountains sometimes spouting 230 feet (70 meters) into the air —other eruptions have ceased.

But highly toxic sulfur dioxide gas pouring from some fissures continued to contribute to "extremely dangerous" conditions.

"The high levels of sulfur dioxide are a threat to all who become exposed," the Hawaii County Civil Defense office said in an alert.

That office reported Saturday that five houses have been destroyed. It said in a Facebook posting that "eruptive activity is increasing and is expected to continue."

The office cautioned Hawaiians to be patient. "Please understand the unpredictability of these hazards," it said.

Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, scene of a mandatory evacuation order Friday, were assessing roads and trails on Sunday as they weighed whether to reopen.

Civil defense administrator Talmadge Magno told the Honolulu Star Advertiser that some residents of the evacuated subdivisions might be allowed to return briefly to their homes to tend to animals and collect important papers. But, he cautioned, "We are pretty sure we are not done."

The area has suffered several severe shocks since Thursday, when a magnitude 5 earthquake under Kilauea's south flank set off an initial eruption. A quake Friday was measured at magnitude 6.9, the most powerful to hit the islands since 1975.

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE A man watches as lava is seen sewing from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island as up to 10,000 people were asked to leave their homes following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano that came after a...