Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted more than a month ago and liquid rock has been spewing from it and its fissures ever since. Lava flows have destroyed an entire neighborhood, traveling so far that it has reached the ocean and the mayor's house on the island. A message from the Civil Defense Agency Thursday said fissure 8 was still very active and flowing. The lava was flowing into Kapoho Bay and the message said the bay was filled with lava Thursday. The delta of lava that the flows formed was 1.5 miles wide as of Thursday evening and was expanding from the isolated Vacationland area in the direction of Kapoho Beach Lots. Since the volcano first erupted, more than 113.5 million cubic meters of lava have spread across the island, with some making it into the ocean. It's enough lava to cover the island of Manhattan in 6.5 feet deep of lava, according to the United States Geological Survey. When hot lava enters the cool Pacific Ocean it creates a by-product called laze. Policies were in effect prompted by the increase in laze that was forming as lava flowed into the ocean from the constant volcanic activity. That laze is a hazy plume of hydrochloric acid, glass and steam that is released into the air following the combination of lava and the ocean water. Laze can cause eye and skin irritation in addition to lung damage, and plumes can move easily with the wind. Thursday and Friday's active flows prompted officials to issue evacuation orders for Leilani Estates, Pomaikai Street and other neighborhoods in the area. Residents with credentials were allowed in some areas to inspect their property. Early Friday morning in Hawaii there was an explosion near the summit of Kilauea with a plume likely reaching less than 10,000 feet in the air, the USGS tweeted. Kilauea Volcano Eruption: Terrifying Aerial Images Show Lava Destroying Homes on Hawaii's Big Island Gas emissions from the lava and volcano were still high and a danger for those in the area and downwind from the lava flows. The sulfur dioxide coming from the volcano can also cause respiratory issues, especially for those who already have trouble breathing like people with asthma. The gases released from the eruption also have the potential to cause acid rain to fall on the island. A map from the USGS, last updated on Wednesday, shows where the lava had recently expanded. As maps are updated, they will be posted to the USGS website. ​​<doc-sep>The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite captured the changing paths that the bright-orange lava rivers took to enter the Pacific Ocean. While the European Space Agency's mission mainly provides information for agricultural and forestry practices, its images of disasters such as volcanic eruptions can be used to help assess damage. The tale of Hawaii's recent volcanic eruptions continues to change, much like its fierce lava flows, and new images from space tell the latest chapter. Two satellites and a camera-wielding astronaut captured powerful overhead views of the active Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. Images taken from late May to Sunday (June 10) show molten material churning out from volcanic fissures on a journey toward the Pacific Ocean on the southeast corner of the island. Volcanic smog, known as vog, rises into the air. The devastation left in the volcano's wake is palpable in the time-lapse imagery released by officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) on June 8. The ESA Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite captured the changing paths that the bright-orange lava rivers took to enter the Pacific Ocean. Distinct paths are apparent when viewing the May 23 and June 8 photos one after the other. [In Photos: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Eruption as Seen from Space] In a related image caption, ESA officials shared that the lava flows have destroyed around 600 homes, calling the flows' rapid property destruction unprecedented. "While the Sentinel-2 mission mainly provides information for agricultural and forestry practices and to map changes in land cover, its images of disasters such as volcanic eruptions can be used to help assess damage," ESA officials stated. See more Another view came in on June 3, when the WorldView-3 satellite from space-imagery company DigitalGlobe caught the devastation as active lava flows approached Kapoho Bay. DigitalGlobe released the color, near-infrared and shortwave infrared resolution imagery via tweet the following day, June 4. [Photos: Fiery Lava from Kilauea Volcano Erupts on Hawaii's Big Island] And on Sunday (June 10), NASA astronaut and Expedition 56 Cmdr. Drew Feustel tweeted an image of vog emanating from the island's coast and at other points along the lava's paths. "Expedition 56 is thinking of Hawaii as the dynamic Earth continues to evolve," Feustel shared in the Twitter post. See more Visit our sister site Live Science for updates on Hawaii's volcanic activity. Island residents can sign up for alerts from the County of Hawaii here. Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.<doc-sep>Lava from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has expanded its flow in residential areas known as Four Corners and Kapoho Beach Lots. A Civil Defense message released on Thursday morning explained that Fissure 8, the eighth opening on the volcano, continues to be very active and is oozing fresh lava at Kapoho Beach and Four Corners. A USGS map showed the expansion to be east of Leilani Estates, a subdivision in the Puna District. Residents were urged to stay away from the areas and to remain cognizant of the fact that other breakouts are possible on the active flow field. Along with an update about the Fissure 8 activity, the Civil Defense message provided information about disaster relief programs and encouraged people to reach out if they are in need of help. The volcano has been erupting since May and over 600 homes, including Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim's second home, have been destroyed. "I have lost what I consider the most beautiful place in the world but my troubles are minor compared with people who are losing everything," Kim told the Express. On Wednesday morning local time, a "seismic event" occurred near Kilauea's summit and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement that it was likely associated with a summit eruption. Despite registering at a magnitude of 5.4, the center alleviated the public's potential fear with a declaration that a tsunami was not expected to occur. "No tsunami is expected. Repeat. No tsunami is expected," the statement said. On Monday, the USGS posted a video on Twitter from June 30, showing a whirlwind above Fissure 8, which caused lava to be flung tens of feet. Geologist Janet Babb told Newsweek that the rate which the lava is spreading laterally has slowed, but eruptions continue to take place unabated. Kim issued a mandatory evacuation order on May 31 and residents at the Kea'au Armory shelter recently sent Red Cross volunteer Carry "Doc" Morgan off with a handmade card. "Aloha. You will be missed," the Red Cross shared the going-away card said. "To our friend, thanks for your understanding and having compassion for our needs. Mahalo." Doc called the gesture a "genuine surprise" and commended the shelter's residents for continuing to smile and not pity themselves; despite the "harsh hand" they were dealt. Along with humans losing their homes, the persistent flow of lava has also burned through the homes of local wildlife. The University of Hawaii at Hilo biology professor Patrick Hart predicted during an interview with Express that it could be a century before parts of a forest damaged by lava begin to grow again. "There was no place like Kapoho in all of Hawaii. That entire habitat is gone now," ocean expert John Burns told Express and added that with regards to marine wildlife and coral, it's basically like starting from "day one." SaveSave<doc-sep>People on the Big Island of Hawaii have been dealing with the eruptions and collapse events from the Kilauea volcano for almost two months now. Activity at the summit of the volcano continues with collapse events, and lava is still flowing from the island's Fissure 8. Friday morning in Hawaii, there was a collapse explosion that sent a plume of volcanic material into the sky and drifting southwest of the summit according to the United States Geological Survey. But the levels of sulfur dioxide, the gas that Kilauea releases, were actually down from where they had been when the volcano first started erupting. The next morning, there was another collapse event. That event occurred after about 15 hours of elevated seismic activity around the summit. It resulted in a steam plume that went about 500 feet in the air, similar to the previous explosion. After the explosive events, the seismicity in the area dropped significantly by about two-thirds. Prior to the events, there were about 30 to 35 earthquakes an hour resulting from the volcanic activity, after the collapse events that dropped to 10 or less for a short period before the activity increased again, according to the USGS. In addition to the collapse events that have resulted in the loss of a parking lot and a GPS station for measuring collapse, the lava that has already claimed hundreds of homes is still flowing. Fissure 8 is still erupting lava and flowing into a channel. The channel does occasionally experience small and temporary overflows, according to the USGS. The spatter cone of the fissure was reaching about 155 feet tall as of Saturday morning. The lava that was coming from the fissure was flowing down to the ocean, where it had filled the entire Kapoho Bay and moved onto the Kapoho Beach Lots, said the USGS. The lava was entering the ocean and causing a dangerous byproduct called laze, short for lava haze, that officials were warning people to avoid. The plume can damage the lungs and the skin as well as the eyes. The point where the lava enters the ocean can also experience small explosions, the USGS warned. Around Fissure 8, volcanic glass including Pele's hair was falling, more particles that residents were asked to avoid due to the irritation they can cause.<doc-sep>
Nine weeks after Hawaii's Kilauea began erupting, the volcano is still actively sending lava across more than a mile of the island and into the ocean. The volcano has destroyed everything in its path since the initial eruption and showed no signs of slowing down more than two months into its activity. Homes, roads and parking lots have been covered in lava or have fallen into the volcano's caldera. Collapse events at the summit continued to cause what feels like earthquakes across the island for those in the area, plaguing residents for weeks on end. Seismicity drops just after such a collapse, but picks back up again a few hours later, building until another collapse event occurs. The most recent collapse event happened Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey. The summit of the volcano was still releasing sulfur dioxide, though levels have dropped as the activity has continued. Gas and the ash coming from the volcano can cause irritation to the skin, eyes and lungs—and both were traveling downwind of the summit. In addition to the activity at the summit of the volcano, the large channel of lava flowing to the ocean continued to pose a danger to those in the area. The flow has spread across the island and was entering the ocean at several spots, a map of the island showed Friday. The lava in the channel was mostly from Fissure 8 on the island that has been highly active for weeks. That lava was flowing and entering the ocean at Kapoho Beach, where it filled the entirety of Kapoho Bay last month. The flow caused the communities of Kapoho Beach Lots and Four Corners on the island to be closed completely, according to Hawaii Civil Defense. Though the lava was in the channel flowing to the ocean, it was sometimes spilling over the outside edges and breakouts were possible. Due to the variability of the lava, people were advised to stay away from the channel. Where the lava was reaching the ocean and entering the water, there was flying debris due to the reaction of the hot lava hitting the cool water. That area is also unstable due to the fact that the lava was new and built on other lava and some sand, the USGS warned. The lava's entry point also caused lava haze, or laze, to form, a plume that contained hydrochloric acid that could irritate the skin and lungs.