During 19-25 May HVO reported that activity at Kilauea continued from the summit and the east rift zone. At the summit, occasional rising and falling of the circulating, crusting, and bubbling lava-pool surface continued at the deep pit inset within the floor of Halema'uma'u crater; glow from the vent was visible. The plume of gas from the summit vent drifted SW. Sulfur dioxide emission rates measured at the summit during 19-21 and 24 May were in the 800-1,200 tonnes/day range.

At the east rift zone, lava flows that broke out of the TEB lava-tube system had advanced down the Pulama pali onto the coastal plain and headed S, entering the ocean at Ki. Other lava flows were active on the flow field. A small lava flow issued from a vent on Pu'u 'O'o's S crater wall on 21 May.

Geological Summary. Kilauea overlaps the E flank of the massive Mauna Loa shield volcano in the island of Hawaii. Eruptions are prominent in Polynesian legends; written documentation since 1820 records frequent summit and flank lava flow eruptions interspersed with periods of long-term lava lake activity at Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera until 1924. The 3 x 5 km caldera was formed in several stages about 1,500 years ago and during the 18th century; eruptions have also originated from the lengthy East and Southwest rift zones, which extend to the ocean in both directions. About 90% of the surface of the basaltic shield volcano is formed of lava flows less than about 1,100 years old; 70% of the surface is younger than 600 years. The long-term eruption from the East rift zone between 1983 and 2018 produced lava flows covering more than 100 km2, destroyed hundreds of houses, and added new coastline.

Source: US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)