OVPF reported that the eruption at Piton de la Fournaise that began on the E part of l’Enclos Fouqué at 1620 on 11 August paused for about four hours beginning around 0420 on 15 August; tremor and deep earthquakes indicating magma movement continued to be detected. Lava fountaining resumed at 0830 at two vents residing along the second fissure at 1,500 m elevation, producing flows that did not extend beyond 500 m in length. The lava-flow front from the main flow did not advance past 600-650 elevation. Activity ceased around 2200 on 15 August.

Geological Summary. Piton de la Fournaise is a massive basaltic shield volcano on the French island of Réunion in the western Indian Ocean. Much of its more than 530,000-year history overlapped with eruptions of the deeply dissected Piton des Neiges shield volcano to the NW. Three scarps formed at about 250,000, 65,000, and less than 5,000 years ago by progressive eastward slumping, leaving caldera-sized embayments open to the E and SE. Numerous pyroclastic cones are present on the floor of the scarps and their outer flanks. Most recorded eruptions have originated from the summit and flanks of Dolomieu, a 400-m-high lava shield that has grown within the youngest scarp, which is about 9 km wide and about 13 km from the western wall to the ocean on the E side. More than 150 eruptions, most of which have produced fluid basaltic lava flows, have occurred since the 17th century. Only six eruptions, in 1708, 1774, 1776, 1800, 1977, and 1986, have originated from fissures outside the scarps.

Source: Observatoire Volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise (OVPF)