Breaking: Kīlauea Magma Intrudes, Alert Raised to Watch/Orange

An earthquake swarm near Kīlauea's summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park “may indicate an intrusion of magma occurring 1-2km (0.6-1.2 mi) beneath the south caldera” according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Over 12 hours, over 140 quakes were recorded, the largest at magnitude 3.3 with the majority under magnitude 1 , “with a particularly strong sequence … at about 1:30am HST. ” While there are no signs of lava on the surface, magma movement continues underground at a rate exceeding 10 small earthquakes per hour, and the USGS has raised the volcano alert level/aviation color code to Watch/Orange in response. The activity poses no current threat to people, occurring entirely within the National Park away from any infrastructure. We briefly review the latest USGS monitoring data, webcams and reports, then discuss live viewer questions in this breaking report. This program is brought to you in part by a grant from the Hawaiʻi Island Strong Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation in partnership with the County of Hawaiʻi, and from smaller donations from viewers like you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrwAQatjmVU