Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is still spewing out lava, and new cracks in the earth are opening hours after it erupted

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May 18, 2018 4:57 PM

The Kilauea volcano on the Big Island has continued to spill out molten rock, and several new fissures have been opened. It last erupted in the early hours of May 17.

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island erupted on Thursday.
It has continued to spew out lava and opened up new several fissures some 14 hours after the event.
Officials in the area are warning locals to steer clear of the molten flows.

Large amounts of lava are still spewing out of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano some 14 hours after a big eruption on Thursday morning.

Lava flows and several fissures started pushing out lava around the volcano site on the east of Hawaii's Big Island, emergency authorities on the island said.

The lava, which was seen by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at 6 p.m. Thursday local time, is the pahoehoe variety. This means the molten rock is low in viscosity, appears smooth, and generally moves slowly.

Authorities warned citizens to beware of fallen utility lines and poles, and the spread of toxic gas emanating from the ash plumes.

HVO's warning came after an explosive eruption at 4 a.m. that day.

There has been intense activity around the Kilauea volcano for more than a week.

It had already spewed ash and lava from existing fissures, caused earthquakes, shot out "ballistic blocks," and destroyed at least 30 buildings. At least 1,700 residents have evacuated from their homes.

The USGS earlier this weekissued a rare "red alert" warning, its highest level, meaning that a major volcanic eruption was imminent or underway and that the toxic ash clouds could affect air traffic.

Thursday's explosion sent an ash plume around 30,000 feet high.

Two astronauts also reported being able to see an ash plume from the volcano from space earlier this week.

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