Hawaii Kilauea volcano: 4.4-magnitude earthquake strikes
A 4.4-magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii's Big Island Friday near the summit of Kilauea voclano, the U.S. Geological Survey said, the largest of several quakes that struck Friday. The tremor did not generate a tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB.
The agency says the island doesn't face a tsunami threat after the temblor struck around 12:44 p.m. Friday. County officials have warned of aftershocks.
An earthquake at 6 p.m. Thursday sent an ash cloud 10,000 feet into the air, the USGS said.
The Kilauea volcano has been erupting for three weeks, spewing lava from cracks that emerged in neighborhoods and sending ash sky-high from its summit. Earthquakes also have been occurring.
Hawaii County officials say the number of structures lava has destroyed on the Big Island is now 82. So far, lava has covered 3.4 square miles of land in lower Puna, cutting off access to at least 37 homes, KGMB reports. About 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate from the rural communities where the lava fissures opened.
On Thursday night, resident Isaac Krakauer took to Facebook Live to document lava flows claiming several homes in the Leilani Estates subdivision.
"This is insane. This lava is advancing at about two feet more minute and we're seeing this river move across this lawn taking that house in a matter of minutes," Krakauer said in the video, as he documents a landscape on fire — a field of lava over lawns, covering trees and advancing on homes.
"This thing is moving so fast. It's hard to even look at it, it's so bright and hot," Krakauer said.