The week's headline was Kīlauea Episode 44 — it delivered on 9 April after six days of precursory overflows, fountained for 8.5 hours from the north vent, sent tephra 10 inches deep into the Volcano Golf Course and ash as far as Hilo, then ended abruptly. Alert levels were raised to RED/WARNING during the event and have now settled at ADVISORY/YELLOW — a lower resting level than the WATCH/ORANGE of previous repose periods. Meanwhile Piton de la Fournaise crossed the RN2 road again on 1 April, and Mayon just keeps going.
Kīlauea Episode 44 began at 11:10 AM HST on 9 April, fountained for 8 hours and 31 minutes from the north vent, and ended abruptly at 7:41 PM. HVO described it as "much smaller in size than episodes 41–43" — but steady southerly winds drove tephra north-northeast in a narrow band, closing Highway 11 and depositing ash as far as Hilo, 40 km from the vents.
🇺🇸 Kīlauea Advisory · Yellow
Episode 44 was the culmination of an unusual six-day precursory phase. From 3 April, approximately 75 small lava overflows occurred from the south vent primarily — the most sustained pre-episode overflow activity of the current eruption series. When fountaining finally began at 11:10 AM HST on 9 April, it came predominantly from the north vent rather than both vents as in previous episodes. The fountain reached a maximum of approximately 240 metres by 12:45 PM, then gradually declined to around 150 metres by 4:00 PM, before the episode ended abruptly at 7:41 PM HST after 8 hours and 31 minutes.
Strong southerly and south-westerly winds concentrated the tephra plume into a narrow band tracking north-northeast. Tephra up to 10 inches (25 cm) in diameter was reported at the Volcano Golf Course subdivision, with fine ash and Pele's hair reaching Kaumana, just west of Hilo — approximately 40 km from the vents. The plume reached 16,000 feet (4,900 metres) above sea level according to the NWS Washington VAAC. Alert levels were raised from WATCH/ORANGE to WARNING/RED at 12:36 PM HST and Highway 11 through Volcano was closed. HVO describes the episode as smaller than episodes 41–43, but the wind conditions made its community impact comparable to Episode 43.
Notably, after the episode ended HVO lowered the alert level to ADVISORY/YELLOW — a step below the WATCH/ORANGE that had been maintained throughout the repose period since Episode 43. This reflects the current assessment that, while another episode remains likely given the ongoing eruption, the immediate-term hazard has reduced following Episode 44. The eruption has now been producing episodic fountaining from Halemaʻumaʻu since 23 December 2024.
🇷🇪 Piton de la Fournaise Alert 2-2 · Active
The eruption that resumed on 28 March continued through the week, and on 2125 on 1 April the lava flow crossed the RN2 coastal highway for a second time — re-severing the main road link between the south and east of Réunion Island. The GVP/Smithsonian WVAR for the week ending 1 April confirms this, reporting on activity via OVPF. Following the resumption on 28 March, seismicity was low on 29–30 March before increasing sharply on 31 March when more than 90 shallow volcano-tectonic earthquakes were recorded at depths of 1.5–2 km beneath the summit. After activity resumed on 28 March, inflation slowed and then stopped by 31 March, with the summit area beginning to deflate. The Alert Level remains at 2.2.
🇵🇭 Mayon Alert 3 · Intensified
Now past 90 consecutive days of effusive eruption with no sign of meaningful retreat. The GVP/Smithsonian WVAR for the week ending 1 April — sourced from PHIVOLCS — reports continued lava effusion and summit dome collapses, pyroclastic density currents, incandescent rockfalls, and ash plumes during 26 March to 1 April. Emissions rose 100–1,000 m above the summit daily. The seismic network recorded 165–301 daily rockfalls, 1–6 daily pyroclastic density currents, and 63–208 daily volcanic earthquakes, with 1–21 periods of volcanic tremor each lasting up to two and a half hours. Daily SO₂ emissions averaged 2,205–4,361 tonnes per day. Lava flows remain at 3.8 km (Basud), 3.2 km (Bonga), and 1.3 km (Mi-isi) — no advancement.
📡 What to watch next week
With Kīlauea now at Advisory/Yellow following Episode 44, the question is how quickly inflation rebuilds and whether HVO raises the alert level again ahead of Episode 45. The 75 precursory overflows before Ep.44 were unusual — watch whether a similar pattern develops. Piton de la Fournaise has crossed RN2 again and summit deflation has begun — monitor OVPF bulletins for whether activity strengthens or wanes. Mayon at 90+ days shows no signs of stopping; any escalation in PDC frequency or SO₂ above 5,000 t/day would be significant. And Bulusan remains on the watchlist at Alert Level 1 — the pre-eruption seismic pattern from 2022 and 2025 has been established; any escalation warrants immediate attention.