Keeping Up With the Kilauea Lava Flow on Social Media

Access near the Puna lava flow may be restricted for safety reasons, but residents, web sites and journalists are still documenting the rare occasion.

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The Kilauea lava flow, described as a natural disaster in slow motion, has captured the attention of national media, Hawaii photographers like our own Cory Lum, and of course, local residents who turn to social media to capture a rare sight.

As of Friday morning, the lava flow was moving at about two yards an hour. A new, small breakout of the lava on the south margin of the existing flow above Apaa Street was advancing downslope and destroyed a small structure for cattle Friday morning.

Some of the most prolific and shared updates come from the Facebook page of Big Island Video News, a website established in 2008 to document Big Island news on video, naturally.

The page has been diligent about lava flow updates. And this rather priceless video of “Garden hose vs. Lava” was posted Thursday, and as of Friday had been seen about 29,000 times.

Post by Big Island Video News.

Instagram user Russell Saito posted some footage of the lava burning through foliage.

Someone stumbled upon some liquid hot “magma.”

A video posted by Russell Saito (@ihuhsoul) on

The lava flow has been a disruptive force when it comes to people’s homes, their schools and their livelihood.

Sometimes, it’s the perfect opportunity to take some “you only live once (YOLO)” selfies.

Members of the national news media have also swarmed the Big Island, including ABC News’ World News Tonight hosts, who brought their natural tendencies to point at things.

Post by ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

Although residents are not allowed near the flow, there are many ways to keep track of updates and photos.

You can follow the hashtag #PunaLavaFlow on Twitter and Instagram for social media posts. Or you can just search for lava or #lava, because there aren’t many other lava-related events going on in the world right now, so chances are you’ll find updates from the Big Island.

You can also visit the following links for timely updates and images:

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