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An active lava flow from Kilauea Volcano’s Puu Oo vent was less than a quarter-mile from the ocean as of Monday morning, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The 61G lava flow extends southeast from Puu Oo and toward the coastal plain on Kilauea’s south flank.
On Sunday the flow was 0.15 mile from the coastal emergency road and 0.2 mile from the ocean.
According to the observatory, areas of incandescence remained visible in overnight webcam views of the active lava flow field.
The flow began May 24 and now extends some
6 miles from the vent.
Should the flow reach the ocean, steam explosions, collapsing lava deltas and other hazards could result.
The flow does not pose a threat to nearby communities.
Meanwhile the lava lake within the Halemaumau Overlook crater remained active about 85 feet below the crater rim Sunday.
Tiltmeters at Kilauea’s summit recorded a slight inflationary tilt Sunday.
Deflation-inflation events are regular, cyclical occurrences marked by an abrupt deflation of up to a few microradians (a measure of angle equivalent to 0.000057 degrees) in magnitude. Such events often occur when lava pulses or pauses in the eruption at the volcano’s Puu Oo and Peace Day vents.
