Part of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been closed as increased seismic activity has been detected beneath Kilauea.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported this morning that 70 earthquakes were observed beneath Kilauea in the past 24 hours, with 45 detected in the southern part of the caldera and another 25 beneath the upper East Rift Zone.
The largest of those earthquakes ranged from magnitude 2.8 to magnitude 3.2.
During the same period, a pair of tiltmeters located to the northwest and southwest of the caldera detected “modest” and “moderate” terrain inflation, according to the HVO report.
While HVO states that there is no current sign of an imminent eruption, the increased seismicity is similar to events that preceded previous eruptions. Based on the current activity, any eruption that occurs would most likely take place within the caldera, but could potentially occur in the upper East Rift Zone.
That said, other activity that immediately preceded prior eruptions — such as strong earthquake swarms and the creation of a lava dike — have not been detected at this time. HVO also reports the current activity could also simply subside without leading to any eruption at all.
In response to the increased activity, HVNP has closed Chain of Craters Road at the intersection near the Devastation Trail parking lot. While the summit area remains open between Uekahuna and Puʻupuaʻi, other areas including Devastation Trail and the Keanakakoʻi Crater side of Kilauea caldera are temporarily closed.
Other areas including Mauna Iki Trail and a section of Kaʻu Desert Trail have been closed since Oct. 11.
“Decisions to temporarily close areas of the park are never easy but are made as a precaution,” said HVNP Superintendent Rhonda Loh in a statement. “Kilauea volcano is very restless right now, and safety is our utmost priority. When USGS notifies us of significant changes, we will re-evaluate area closures.”
Kilauea’s volcano alert level and aviation color code both remain unchanged, and are respectively set at “Advisory” and “Yellow.”