Posted on 05/03/2018 11:02:04 PM PDT by Simon Green
Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, releasing lava into a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes.
Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island.
Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road.
County, state and federal officials had been warning residents all week that they should be prepared to evacuate, as an eruption would give little warning.
The county has ordered evacuations for all of Leilani Estates, which according to the 2010 U.S. Census has a population of 1,500.
Nearby community centers have opened for shelter.
The U.S. Geological Survey said new ground cracks were reported Thursday afternoon. Hot vapor emerged from a crack and spattering lava began to erupt.
Scientists said areas downslope of the erupting vent were at risk of being covered by lava. Leilani Estates appeared to be at greatest risk, but scientists said new vents and outbreaks could occur and it's not possible to say where.
The eruption comes after days of earthquakes rattled the area's Puna district. A nearby school was closed due to the ongoing seismic activity and several roadways cracked under the strain of the constant temblors.
The Puu Oo crater floor began to collapse Monday, triggering a series of earthquakes and pushing the lava into new underground chambers.
The collapse caused magma to push more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) downslope toward the populated southeast coastline of the island.
USGS geologist Janet Babb said the magma crossed under Highway 130, which leads to a popular volcano access point, on Tuesday night.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency closed the area to visitors on Tuesday and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.
Most of Kilauea's activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton (9-metric ton) rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.
Puu Oo's 1983 eruption resulted in lava fountains soaring over 1,500 feet high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried dozens of square miles (kilometers) of land and destroyed many homes.
Been geologist warnings of lava flow underneath this area for a day or so. Still, having your street crack open and the lava come busting loose has to be a Hollywierd image.
For all the Hawaii haters sure to pile on, remember the vote here was not totally for The Beast. On West Hawaii, 40% voted for Trump, much to the rage of liberals. Dunno how different that was for California.
I hope the coral reefs will be okay.
Gorebal Warning....
I thought that the volcano already did that. Clean underwear will be in short supply in that entire area.
“scientists said new vents and outbreaks could occur and it’s not possible to say where.”
Zactly what kind of Science is this?
Maybe they need to eat Mor Chikin...
Has this study been replacated?
It would seem building a home on the side of a volcano is like tap dancing on a land mine. But I live close to Yellowstone and I feel bad for the folks who lost their homes. We all roll the dice and sometime it comes up snake eyes. The caldera under Yellowstone could wake up anytime. You choose then jump in and take your chances.
Do they sell “the Big One” insurance in the “tri-state” area?
Thanks for the link; post.
Housing and land is cheap there, with a lot of low income people buying. Those with the money do not want to buy in an area at higher risk of lava activity.
A shame, a lot of peaceful land over there. Until now.
We all live on an active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii along with 11 of the 13 climatic zones in the world, they tell us. The entire island is broken up into Lava Zones from most susceptible to lava flows to the least. The area experiencing lava activity is in Lava Zones 1 & 2, the more susceptible zones. If you are willing to take your chances living in one of the most beautiful places on the island, remote, quiet, private, with limited public amenities - power, water, etc, this is the place. The volcano scientists and County Civil defense agencies are well practiced in providing early warning and evacuation existence. It is not my recommended lifestyle but many of the younger generations find it “liberating” and cheap.
Wow! I gather the ground split open since there’s a long line of lava exploding up through the trees.
And there’s no telling where the next crack will split open.
Yesterday I commented about if there were a global oubreak of volcanic activity there could possibly be an increase in atmospheric temperature. I was criticized because the common thought is that there would be global cooling due to smoke and sulphur dioxide gases. That’s possible, but there’s other types of eruptions such as fissure eruptions which put out less smoke than stratovolcanoes. Large and I mean LARGE lava ((igneous) outpourings in geologic history has increased global temperatures according to geologists.
They are mountains formed by volcanic activity. Should be no surprise to anyone. Makes for some really cool television but has to suck terribly for property values to have your area turn into a lava flow.
“How about those people in Kilauea, Hawaii, who build their homes right next to an active volcano…and then wonder why they have lava in the living room?”In the case of Leilani Estates, they built right on top of the eastern rift zone, and even inside a crater that could have reactivated (and did).
— George Carlin
The Global Warmists will love this, because all their data is based on contaminated samples taken from the Big Island. This will make their CO2 levels go up even more and they will say it further justifies their computer models.
My exact thoughts,,,,
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.