Kilauea eruption and earthquake puts population on high alert

Following the eruption on Friday which resulted in thousands of homes being evacuated, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred on Saturday too.

The earthquake caused power cuts but no tsunami warning was issued.  The volcano continues to erupt and new vents are appearing across the eastern tip of the island.

All residents have been told to evacuate with concerns that more vents will appear in this area, as lava has been breaking through pavements and roads.  The high viscosity of the lava however has meant that the lava is only travelling around 20 yards away from the vents before starting to solidify so a wider threat to currently unaffected locations is unlikely.

The lava lake itself which is feeding these eruptions has seen a drop in its level so scientists are hopeful that the eruptions will subside.  However, with earthquake activity still evident, the concerns for this area to the south-east of the main crater of Kilauea are still high.  Check out the following articles on this report...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/w...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl...