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<\/a>Episode 27 lava fountains at the summit of K\u012blauea occurred throughout about 11 hours Sunday, June 29, 2025. Vibrant red lehua blossoms of the native \u02bb\u014dhia tree frame the foreground of this photo, while the lava fountain from the north vent is visible in the background. (Photo Credit: P. Dotray\/U.S. Geological Survey)<\/p>\nK\u012blauea and Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s other active volcanoes are ever-changing landscapes. From summits to coastlines, lava flows downslope to resurface land and add acreage where it enters the ocean.<\/p>\n
Lava fountains blanket areas downwind with p\u014dh\u0101h\u0101 \u2014 fallout \u2014 called tephra.<\/p>\n
As magma moves beneath the surface, it can cause ground cracks or collapsed areas such as craters to form on the ground above.<\/p>\n
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Native Hawaiian oral traditions attribute those active volcanic processes to Hawaiian volcano goddess Pelehonuamea, also known by the shorter Pele, the creator of land.<\/p>\n
The Hawaiian Archipelago, located in the Central Pacific Ocean, is susceptible to storms that approach from various directions, including hurricanes during the summer and kona low storms during the winter.<\/p>\n
These weather systems and accompanying wind, rain and ocean surges can topple trees, cause flooding and erosion and cover the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa \u2014 the tallest volcanoes on Hawai\u02bbi Island \u2014 with snow.<\/p>\n
Native Hawaiian oral traditions say rains, winds, thunder and lightning are the works of the elemental force and one of the four principal Hawaiian gods Lono, who brings fertility to the land.<\/p>\n
Volcanic eruptions and storms can completely transform landscapes, but natural recovery begins soon afterward.<\/p>\n
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Where vegetation was damaged by new volcanic deposits or storms, new growth quickly begins. When vegetation is completely destroyed or buried, spores and seeds landing in these areas begin the processes of slowly restoring vegetation.<\/p>\n
Native Hawaiian oral traditions attribute these actions to Hawaiian patron goddess of hula dancers, chants, sorcery and medicine \u2014 the healer of land \u2014 Hi\u02bbiakaikapoliopele, also known by the shorter Hi\u02bbiaka, as she begins to re-green the land.<\/p>\n
The oral traditions recorded interactions between Pele, Lono and Hi\u02bbiaka in the past, and we continue to see their interactions today.<\/p>\n
Pele dramatically appeared at the summit of K\u012blauea last week with a heavy fall of p\u014dh\u0101h\u0101 March 10, followed by a wildly enthusiastic Lono a few days later \u2026 and now Hi\u02bbiaka is present in recovery.<\/p>\n
The area northeast of Kaluapele o K\u012blauea \u2014 the summit caldera \u2014 was blanketed March 10 with tephra fallout from summit eruption Episode 43 lava fountains that reached up to 1,770 feet high \u2014 the highest yet recorded since the episodic eruption started Dec. 23, 2024.<\/p>\n
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Hawai\u02bbi Volcanoes National Park and portions of Highway 11 were temporarily closed because of the hazardous conditions created and to allow for fallout to be cleared.<\/p>\n
A powerful kona low arrived several days later, bringing days of strong winds and heavy rainfall that flooded areas, knocked down trees and other vegetation and blew off parts of roofs. Roads were temporarily blocked \u2014 some being damaged even more \u2014 and power still was remained off as of Thursday afternoon, March 19, in some areas.<\/p>\n Recovery for the people living on these landscapes today has a different meaning compared with the past because we are largely reliant on infrastructure such as electricity and transportation.<\/p>\n When these resources are impacted by natural events, our daily lives are affected.<\/p>\n There are steps you can take to be aware of the hazardous natural events that can affect you here and make preparations where possible.<\/p>\n Living in such a dynamic place as Hawai\u02bbi Island, it\u2019s important to try to be aware and prepared for the natural events that affect us.<\/p>\n Nature will continue to reshape the land in Hawai\u02bbi, and these recent events are reminders about how impactful such natural events can be.<\/p>\n VOLCANO ACTIVITY UPDATES<\/p>\n K\u012aLAUEA volcano<\/p>\n VOLCANO ALERT LEVEL: Watch<\/p>\n K\u012blauea has erupted episodically within the summit caldera since Dec. 23, 2024. Episode 43 lava fountaining happened for just 9 hours on March 10. No unusual activity has been noted along K\u012blauea\u2019s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.<\/p>\n WHAT\u2019S NEXT? Summit region inflation since the end of Episode 43 indicates another fountaining episode is possible, with models suggesting Episode 44 could begin from April 1-10.<\/p>\n MAUNA LOA volcano<\/p>\n VOLCANO ALERT LEVEL: Normal<\/p>\n Mauna Loa is not erupting. Seismic activity at the beginning of March involved a tight clustering of events under Moku\u02bb\u0101weoweo and weaker concentration of events in the south caldera region \u2014 a continuation of elevated earthquake production from the previous month.<\/p>\n A total of 116 earthquakes were detected beneath Mauna Loa\u2019s summit region during the February reporting period, while the prior month had 123 earthquakes.<\/p>\n Data from global positioning system instruments on Mauna Loa show variable rates of inflation at the summit \u2014 associated with refilling of the summit reservoir system following the 2022 eruption \u2014 during the past 6 months.<\/p>\n Read more in the March 5 monthly activity update<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor K\u012blauea and Mauna Loa.<\/p>\n EARTHQUAKES<\/p>\n Two earthquakes were reported felt during the past week in the Hawaiian Islands:<\/p>\n MAGNITUDE-2.9 quake at 8:54 p.m. March 12 located 8 miles north-northeast of Ocean View.<\/p>\n MAGNITUDE-4.4 quake at 5:16 p.m. March 12 located 8 mikes east-southeast of P\u0101hala at a depth of 18 miles.<\/p>\n Visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website<\/a> for past \u201cVolcano Watch\u201d articles<\/a>, K\u012blauea and Mauna Loa updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake information and more. Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cVolcano Watch\u201d is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[5375,5376,16410,14890,192,240386,13888,240387,240388,240389,63138,240390,187370,240391,210485,240392,7221,240393,79],"class_list":["post-535941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-big-island-news","tag-big-island-now","tag-cleanup","tag-earthquakes","tag-environment","tag-episode-43","tag-hawaii-news","tag-hawaiian-volcano-observatory","tag-hiiaka","tag-important-to-try-to-be-aware-and-prepared","tag-kilauea","tag-kilauea-ongoing-episodic-summit-eruption","tag-kona-low","tag-living-in-such-a-dynamic-place","tag-mauna-loa","tag-native-hawaiian-oral-traditions","tag-nature","tag-nature-will-continue-to-reshape-the-land-in-hawaii","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Recent eruptive episodes at the summit of K\u012blauea have unfortunately been destructive to vegetation in the tephra fallout zone downwind of the lava fountains. However, several native plant species are demonstrating remarkable resilience in the harsh conditions. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists spotted this partially tephra-buried \u02bbama\u02bbu fern May 11, 2025, with its unfurling new fronds, just a few hundred yards from the western rim of Halema\u02bbuma\u02bbu Crater and the active eruptive vents. (Photo Credit: M. Zoeller\/U.S. Geological Survey)<\/p>\n