By Kristina Pydynowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather staff writer
May 13, 2018, 6:13:10 PM EDT
A new fissure has prompted more residents on Hawaii's Big Island to evacuate on Sunday amid the ongoing threat of an explosive eruption at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano.
The fissure opened early on Sunday morning with steam and lava spatter activity, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency. That prompted the evacuation orders for residents of Halekamahina Loop Road.
This is the eighteenth fissure that has cracked open since the volcano's eruption on Thursday, May 3.
Toxic gases rise from cracks in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii, Friday, May 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Twenty-six homes and 36 totals structures have been destroyed, while hundreds remain evacuated from the Leilani Estates community as dangerous sulfur dioxide gas continues to spew into the air.
Winds are expected to direct the hazardous vog to southern and western areas of the Big Island this week.
"Earthquake activity, ground deformation, and continuing high emission rates of sulphur dioxide in the area indicate additional outbreaks of lava are likely as this eruption continues," the the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported late Saturday.
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Key volcano terms you need to know to understand these fiery geological structures
VIDEO: Aerial of collapsed floor of Kilauea's Pu'u O'o crater
The observatory also remains concerned for the possibility of an explosive eruption at the volcano's Halema'uma'u Crater.
"This could generate dangerous debris very near the crater and ashfalls up to tens of miles downwind," the Civil Defense Agency stated.
Steam and gas rise from Kilauea's summit crater in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Thursday, May 10, 2018. The park is closing Friday due to the threat of an explosive volcanic eruption. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Such fears prompted officials to close the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park until further notice.
"Due to the ongoing seismic activity and the anticipated explosions caused by large rock falls, the interaction of ground water and lava, and the possibility of an ensuing ash fall event, the Kīlauea portion of the park will be closed...until further notice.” NPS officials said in a statement.
The national park closed entirely on Friday, May 4 due to strong and damaging earthquakes. No injuries were reported, and about 2,600 visitors were evacuated.
“A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck at 12:32 p.m. Friday, and caused violent shaking throughout the park. It triggered rock slides on park trails, crater walls and along sections of Chain of Craters Road,” officials said at the time. Just one hour earlier, a magnitude-5.4 earthquake caused a coastal cliff to collapse into the ocean near the Hōlei Sea Arch.”
Steam and gas rise along the edge of Kilauea's summit crater in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Thursday, May 10, 2018. The park is closing Friday due to the threat of an explosive volcanic eruption. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
It’s easy to see why #KilaueaVolcano is closing @Volcanoes_NPS beginning Friday. It’s very active with many steam and dust eruptions overnight. Officials are worried about a major steam driven eruption soon. @breakingweather @accuweather #accuphoto
Visitors watch as steam and gas rise from Kilauea's summit crater in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii, Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
On Thursday, May 10, A USGS geologist inspects a crack that widened considerably in the past day on Old Kalapana Road in Leilani Estates. (Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)
In this photo taken from video an unidentified man gets close to a lava flow advancing down a road in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa on the island of Hawaii Monday, May 7, 2018. Kilauea volcano has destroyed more than two dozen homes since it began spewing lava hundreds of feet into the air last week, and residents who evacuated don't know how long they might be displaced. The decimated homes were in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground created by the volcano. (Scott Wiggers/Apau Hawaii Tours via AP)
Short-lived plume of ash from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō captured during an HVO overflight. (Photo/USGS/Kevan Kamibayashi)
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