(CNN) Hundreds of small earthquakes in Hawaii are shaking the eastern side of Big Island, prompting concerns that Kilauea Volcano could erupt. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park reports that due to the possibility of a new eruption and unstable geologic activity, park management closed 15,688 acres near Kīlauea Volcano’s Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō vent to the ocean today, including the gravel emergency access road from the eastern gate near Kalapana, to the western gate at the end of Chain of Craters Road, and all land on the makai (ocean) side of the emergency road. A small fissure opened to the west of the vent on Tuesday, May 1, but scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory report that an intrusion of magma is heading eastward from the vent towards Highway 130. The US Geological Survey said no steam or heat were seen escaping from the cracks, and they were small -- about several inches across.
After over 600 earthquakes, including a magnitude 5.0 at Kīlauea, parts of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park have struck, causing the nearby Puʻu ʻŌʻō, to close due to fears of an eruption. The volcano erupted and evacuations were issued.