(BIVN) – Earthquake activity increased on Kīlauea volcano’s middle East Rift Zone on Saturday evening, prompting an unscheduled status report by the USGS. 

Kīlauea is not erupting, but scientists report ground deformation patterns to the west, or uprift, of Puʻuʻōʻō “suggest that another intrusive event could be occurring in this region”, with earthquakes located near Makaopuhi Crater. 

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea has been maintained at ADVISORY, for now.

Earlier Saturday evening, a magnitude-4.3 earthquake shook the Big Island, but was not strong enough to generate a tsunami or cause damage. Scientists believed the earthquake was related to “the ongoing pressurized magma storage system beneath Kīlauea’s summit area, which extends into the upper East Rift Zone, where intrusions of magma have recently occurred”.

Following that event, earthquakes began to swarm on the middle East Rift Zone, which prompted this USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory statement at 6:59 p.m. HST:

Increased earthquake activity began at approximately 4 p.m. HST today, September 14, 2024, in the region between Pauahi and Makaopuhi Craters. Since then, about 60 earthquakes have been detected and, over the past hour, earthquake intensity has increased centralized closer to Makaopuhi Crater on the middle East Rift Zone. Starting around 6 p.m. HST this evening, ground deformation patterns west (uprift) of Puʻuʻōʻō began to show changes indicative of crack growth, suggesting that another intrusive event could be occurring in this region (similar to events that occurred in this general region in July and August of this year). The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is watching the situation closely and will issue additional messages as needed. Currently, there are no signs of an imminent eruption; however, conditions could change quickly. Past eruptive activity in this area of Kīlauea’s upper-to-middle East Rift Zone has typically occurred between Hiʻiaka crater and Maunaulu in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation beneath the lower East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone remain low. Current activity is restricted to the upper-to-middle East Rift Zone region of Kīlauea.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has not yet announced any new closures due to the increased volcanic unrest. 

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says it will continue to monitor Kīlauea for any changes and will issue additional notices as needed.