Stunning Hawaii Aerial Footage Shows Mile-Wide Volcanic Front, 230 Ft Lava Geyser

Aerial and satellite photos taken over the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s big island reveal the extent of devastation caused by the massive eruption which began on May 3 – destroying 600 homes, roughly 500 of which occurred after the most recent eruption, which sent lava coursing through the communities of Kapoho beach and Vacationland. While thousands of people have been evacuated from the region, officials fear up to a dozen residents who refused to leave are dead. 

The USGS notes that an estimated 4008.2 million cubic feet of lava has saturated the Eastern side of the Big Island – which would fill 45,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, or 11 million dump trucks – enough to cover Manhattan Island up to a depth of six feet. 

Aerial footage shows the flow front covering nearly a mile of coastline spewing toxic steam, also known as “vog,” which will be blown inland until at least Sunday. 

Helicopter overflight of the Kapoho Bay area on the morning of June 8, 2018, shows a flow front that is nearly a mile wide, extending south to Vacationland. #LERZ https://t.co/lRhaWdElzG pic.twitter.com/IxpU9undLT

— USGS Volcanoes (@USGSVolcanoes) June 8, 2018

Meanwhile, fissure #8 is belching a steady fountain of lava up to 230 feet in the air. 

#LeilaniEstatesEruption #KilaueaVolcano LATEST: USGS says overnight lava fountaining from fissure 8 reached 130-180ft; A small explosion occurred at 4:48AM at the summit of Kīlauea, Kaʻu communities should be aware of ashfall https://t.co/CATbzbJQ6W @HawaiiNewsNow #HINews pic.twitter.com/uRTdFYi25P

— Mileka Lincoln (@MilekaLincoln) June 9, 2018

Flow map as of Friday:

Satellite images over the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island taken before and after the latest eruption show dramatic change. https://t.co/CtmrgCNYbe pic.twitter.com/AJRee8rM1w

— ABC News (@ABC) June 9, 2018

A helicopter flyover of the crater shows the funnel-shaped collapsed floor with a deeper cylindrical shaft filled with rubble. 

A special mention goes out to the USGS Volcano social media team (@USGSVolcanoes, Facebook), who have been working hard to provide a constant flow of critical updates and stunning footage of the ongoing Kilauea eruption, along with fun facts:

How much #KilaueaEruption #lava since May 3?
113,500,000 cubic meters (4,008,200,000 cubic feet)
OR enough to:
fill 45,400 Olympic-sized pools
cover Manhattan Island 6.5 ft deep
fill 11.3 million average dump trucks

But, it’s only 1/2 the amount of 1984 Mauna Loa eruption. pic.twitter.com/HeGEvorAze

— USGS Volcanoes (@USGSVolcanoes) June 7, 2018