Hawaii volcano erupts and lava lake overflows. Watch in this dramatic timelapse video
Stunning footage captured by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory last week shows the lava lake at the summit of Kilauea volcano spilling onto the Halema'uma'u crater floor — a "significant" overflow.
The daylong timelapse video — taken from 7:30 p.m. April 25 to 7:30 p.m. April 26 — shows the overflows lighting up the night and spilling throughout the day.
Overflows have been intermittent since April 21, but the largest flow was between 6:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. April 26, when the lava covered about two-thirds of the crater floor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That flow can be seen in the video.
This is the first significant overflow of the summit's lava lake since 2015, according to the USGS. As of Sunday, officials have recorded a "deflationary trend," meaning the lake hasn't overflowed in the past 24 hours, according to the National Park Service.
On Wednesday, about 50 small earthquakes rattled Kilauea as underground magma moved into a new area, according to The Associated Press. Scientists say the activity could trigger a new eruption.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency closed the area to visitors Tuesday and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.
"Residents should heed all advice offered by Civil Defense and take the actions recommended by Civil Defense to prepare for a possible eruption," USGS geologist Janet Babb said. "An eruption is possible because magma is clearly moving through the East Rift Zone and it could come to the surface. The possibility is definitely there, I can't give you a probability."
Kilauea has been constantly erupting since January 1983, according to the USGS.
Most of Kilauea's activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include information on the recent earthquakes and potential eruption threat.
This story was originally published April 29, 2018 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Hawaii volcano erupts and lava lake overflows. Watch in this dramatic timelapse video."