Hawaii volcano eruption DAMAGE in pictures: Devastating photos of erupting Kilauea

The monstrous volcano on the southeastern edge of Hawaii Island, or Big Island, reared its ugly head in the late afternoon hours of Thursday, May 3.

The erupting Hawaii volcano has since opened up 12 wide fissures in the ground, oozing vast amounts of scorching hot lava into residential areas in the District of Puna.

Nearly 40 buildings have so far been damaged by the encroaching wall of lava, including 26 homes – particularly in the Leilani Estates subdivision and neighbouring Lanipuna Gardens.

Witnesses to the terrifying inferno reported spurting lava “fountains” as high as 300 feet in the air.

Renwick Victorino, Hawaii County Deputy Fire Chief, strongly advised all residents to promptly evacuate the area and to stay out until the dire situation is stabilised. 

Mr Victorino said at a Monday emergency meeting toxic sulphur dioxide fumes spewing from the volcano fissures were an additional threat to anyone left behind in the danger zone.

He said: “If someone goes down, we got to go in, risk our lives. We know it's a dangerous situation already. 

“If you guys can help us out, please, please do.”

Some locals have been allowed to return home to Leilani Estates on Monday but the deadly mix of toxic fumes, lava and earthquakes make the area an incredibly unstable area to be in.

The Hawaii Hawaii Civil Defense underlined conditions can change at the drop of a hat and locals need to be ready to flee at short notice. 

More than 1,700 people have already evacuated their homes on Big Island.

Gut wrenching aerial photographs of Kilauea reveal the true extent of the damaged caused by the erupting volcano.

In Leilani Estates, a bubbling fissure in the ground was photographed branching out into the residential area with slowly creeping lava.

Trees and buildings alike were photographed on fire with seemingly nothing able to stem the flow of molten rock.

The skies over Hawaii meanwhile seem to have completely disappeared behind the dense cover of smoke and ash.

Elsewhere on the ground, a terrifying photo of the slowly moving wall of lava on Makamae Street in Leilani Estates, shows the horror up front. 

A stunning time-lapse of the oozing lava shows a car being reduced to ash in less than 20 minutes.

Pictures shared by the Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) also reveal how the force of eruption has cracked the roads open across Big Island.

On Tuesday a crack along Highway 130 spanned an impressive 1.1km stretch, forcing officials to close it off to traffic.

The USGS also shared a hellish photo of Kilauea’s bubbling summit, revealing it has drooped by 220m below the crater’s rim. 

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active and deadly volcanoes and is also Hawaii’s youngest fiery mountain.

The volcano has been steadily erupting since 1983 but there has been no lava threat to local residents until now.