Kilauea has destroyed 26 homes and forced 1700 people to leave their residences since it erupted on Thursday, spewing lava and toxic gas from volcanic vents in a small area of Hawaii's Big Island.

A new fissure opened on Sunday night in the Leilani Estates area some 20km from the volcano, prompting a mobile phone alert for residents to leave homes to avoid sulphur dioxide gas, which can be life threatening at high levels.

So far no fatalities or major injuries have been reported from the volcano, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency.

Evacuees from Leilani Estates were allowed to return for pets, medications and to check property on Sunday, but some like Jeremy Wilson found homes surrounded by fissures that can be hundreds of metres long.

"My house is right in the middle," said Wilson, who turned back in his car when he saw steam coming from cracks in the road ahead.

The semi-rural wooded area of Leilani Estates had become a magnet for newcomers to Hawaii's Big Island who were prepared to risk living near to an active volcano in return for more affordable real-estate prices.

Eruptions of lava and gas were expected to continue, along with aftershocks from Friday's 6.9 magnitude earthquake, the largest in the area since 1975, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Geologists said the activity looked like an event in 1955 when eruptions continued for 88 days in the area and covered a large area with lava.

Australian Associated Press