The Global Volcanism Program has assigned a Volcanic Explosivity Index ( VEI ; the higher the number , the more explosive ) to all except five of Kīlauea 's ninety-five known eruptions of the last 11,700 years . The eruption of 1790 has a VEI of 4 . The 1983 – 2018 eruption has a VEI of 3 . The eruptions of 1820 , 1924 , 1959 and 1960 have a VEI of 2 . The eruptions of 680 , 1050 , 1490 , 1500 , 1610 , 1868 and four eruptions in 1961 have a VEI of 1 . The other seventy-four eruptions have a VEI of 0
eruption of 1790
Keanakakoi eruption
Kīlauea