While the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has detected an increase in earthquake activity beneath the south part of Kilauea summit caldera, within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, USGS has stated that the volcano is not erupting.
It has recently raised the volcano alert level for Kilauea from "advisory" to "watch" due to earthquake activity in Kilauea's south caldera region. The aviation color code was also changed from yellow to orange.
“Currently, webcams and satellite imagery show no evidence of lava at the surface,” USGS stated on its website. “HVO scientists will continue the monitor the situation and will issue additional messages and alert level changes as warranted by changing activity.”
According to the USGS, more than 140 earthquakes have been recorded as of 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 24. A magnitude of 3.3 was the largest recorded earthquake, and the majority of earthquakes were less than a magnitude of 1.
A swarm of earthquakes beneath the south part of Kilauea caldera, which coincided with a change in the style of ground deformation at tiltmeters (an instrument used to measure the tilting of the earth's surface) in the Kilauea summit region, began on the evening of Aug. 23. It continued through the night and into the early morning of Aug. 24. A caldera is a volcanic crater that has a diameter many times that of the vent and is formed by collapse of the central part of a volcano.
Small earthquakes are continuing at a rate of at least 10 detected earthquakes per hour, according to the USGS.