The area just south of Kilauea volcano’s summit continues to show signs of unrest, and inflation remains at about its highest level in more than five years and has nearly returned to the level seen just before the last eruption on Sept. 10, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported this morning.
Elevated seismicity beneath Kilauea’s summit region, which began Oct. 4, increased again around 8 p.m. Sunday night after about 18 hours of moderate to low earthquake counts.
Over the past 24 hours, approximately 100 earthquakes were recorded in the summit region, compared to about 170 earthquakes occurring over the previous day.
Most of the earthquakes from the seismic swarm south of the caldera are at depths of around 1.5 to 2 miles below the surface.
No unusual activity has been noted along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone, according to HVO.
Due to the elevated seismic activity and inflation at Kilauea, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park temporarily closed parts of the park until further notice.
The affected areas include:
— Hilina Pali Road from Chain of Craters Road to Hilina Pali Overlook;
— Kulanaokuaiki Campground;
— Puʻupuaʻi parking lot, Puʻupuaʻi Overlook, and the trail that connects Puʻupuaʻi Overlook to Devastation Trail;
— Devastation parking lot and Devastation Trail;
— Keanakakoʻi Overlook and the paved trail from Chain of Craters Road;
— Crater Rim Trail from Chain of Craters Road to Keanakakoʻi Crater;
— Maunaiki Trail;
— Kaʻu Desert Trail.