Nearly 500 earthquakes have been detected beneath Kilauea summit over the last week as seismic activity remains elevated.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reiterated again this morning that Kilauea is not erupting. However, increased seismicity in the area, which peaked Tuesday with a swarm of 50 earthquakes over the course of several hours, continues today.
Tuesday’s swarm brought the total number of summit quakes over the past week to 467, a marked increase from previous weeks, when there was an average of about 20 quakes per day.
But in spite of the increased seismic activity, tiltmeters at the summit have not detected continued inflation, nor have sulfur dioxide emission rates increased appreciably either at the summit or along the East Rift Zone.
Kilauea’s latest eruption began June 7 and went into a “pause” on June 19. HVO warned earlier this week that the volcano’s current period of elevated unrest suggests that an eruption could occur with little to no warning.
HVO’s volcano alert level and aviation color codes for Kilauea remain unchanged. The observatory will continue to monitor the situation and provide daily updates about the volcano’s activity.