Hawaii's famed Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing lava and forcing evacuations

Hawaii's famed Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1983 and has long been a destination for tourists, underwent a new eruption Thursday that threatened neighborhoods with red-hot lava on the eastern edge of Hawaii Island, prompting evacuations.

A giant crack about 500 feet long formed directly in the lower-elevation neighborhood of Leilani Estates, which has a population of about 1,500. From the crack, lava was shooting like a fountain to heights of up to 100 feet - as if a garden hose filled with running water had been sliced along its length, said U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Wendy Stovall, an expert on Kilauea.

Residents of Leilani Estates - about 25 miles east