The volume of lava erupted from Kūpaianahā declined steadily through 1991, and in early 1992, the vent died. The eruption then returned to Puu Ōō, where flank vents on the west and southwest sides of the cone constructed a new lava shield. Soon lava tubes were feeding lava from the vents to the ocean, with few surface flows in between. The flank vents have held center stage ever since, with the exception of a two-month pause in activity, early in 1997, which followed a brief fissure eruption in Nāpau Crater, a short distance southwest of Puu Ōō.