Hawaii lava forces residents to get ready to flee

[Buster's Uncle]

Hawaii lava forces residents to get ready to flee
Associated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER  47 minutes ago



Hawaii authorities told residents near an active lava flow to prepare for a possible evacuation in the next three to five days. The lava crossed a country road on the edge of Pahoa town, moving at about 10 yards per hour. (Oct. 25)



Dozens of Hawaii residents have been told they might have to evacuate because molten lava from a volcano is headed toward their homes.

The lava from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanos, was about 100 yards from a home Monday morning, Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said.

After months of fitful advancement, the lava crossed Apaa Street on Sunday in Pahoa Village, considered a main town of the Big Island's isolated and rural Puna district. It was getting dangerously close to Pahoa Village Road, which goes straight through downtown.

Here's a look at the volcano, which has been continuously erupting since 1983:


THE LATEST

The flow advanced about 275 yards since Sunday morning, moving northeast at about 10 to 15 yards per hour.



A growing lava stream threatening homes and inching closer to a rural road on Hawaii's Big Island oozed forward in fits and starts this week, frustrating some residents but giving officials a window of time to prepare. (Oct. 25)


The lava's advancement slowed early Monday, while the flow continued to spread out, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The fastest advancing lobe was about 110 yards wide and about 620 yards from Pahoa Village Road at about 7:30 a.m.

Officials closed Pahoa Village Road between Apaa Street and Post Office Road to everyone except residents.

Those living downslope of the flow are under an evacuation advisory. Most residents have found places to go or have already left on their own.

Apaa Street resident Imelda Raras said she and her husband are ready to go to a friend's home in another part of Puna if officials tell them to leave.

"We are still praying," she said. "I hope our home will be spared."



This Oct. 26, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the lava flow front of from an eruption that began the June 27, as the front remains active and continues to advance towards the northeast threatening the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


SLOW CREEP

Scientists began warning the public about the lava on Aug. 22. The warning came as residents were cleaning up from a tropical storm that made landfall over the Puna district, toppling trees and knocking out electricity.

The lava has advanced and slowed as residents waited, watched and worried.

Raras said she's not afraid: "It's like we've accepted it."

Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Most lava from this eruption has flowed south, while the lava has flowed to the northeast over the past two years.



This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows lava flow advancing across the pasture between the Pahoa cemetery and Apaa Street, engulfing a barbed wire fence, near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


This is not an eruption at the caldera, the things that make for stunning pictures as red lava spews from the mountaintop.


WHO IS AT RISK?

Initially, the lava seemed headed for the Kaohe Homesteads, a widespread, sparsely populated subdivision in the Puna district.

It reached vacant lots in the subdivision before it stalled and then headed toward Pahoa.

Pahoa has small-town, quaint and historic charm, but it's "the only town in a commercial sense in lower Puna," said state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who represents Puna and runs a natural food store in Pahoa.



This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a small shed being consumed by lava in a pasture between the Pahoa cemetery and Apa?a Street near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


Because the lava could change direction, any community in Puna is at risk. Everyone in the district lives on the volcano. The lush, agricultural district is about a 30-minute drive from the coastal town of Hilo.

The lava that crossed Apaa Street is on the other side of the street from the Raras home, but they're bracing for the possibility the lava will spread or change directions.


COUNTRY-STYLE LIVING

Why would someone live on an active volcano? Unlike Honolulu, the state's biggest city on the island of Oahu, the Big Island's Puna region still has affordable land and can offer a more rural way of life.

Located on the island's southeast side, the area is made up of subdivisions that have unpaved roads of volcanic rock that are not maintained by the county.



This Oct. 26, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey a Hawaii Volcano Observatory geologist mapping the margin of the June 27 lava flow in the open field below Cemetery Road near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


People live off the grid on solar power and catchment water systems.

Residents know the risks, as there are special insurance requirements to buy land in certain lava zones.


PREPARATIONS

Sporadic suspensions in the lava's movement gave emergency crews time to work on building alternate routes to town in the event the flow covers the main road and highway.

Crews near the leading edge have been wrapping power poles with concrete rings as a layer of protection from lava heat.



This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a Hawaii Volcano Observatory geologist standing on a partly cooled section of lava flow near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Note the thin red horizontal line of molten lava visible along the bottom third of the photo. The flow here is about one meter (three feet) thick, but slightly farther upslope where the lava has had more time to inflate the thickness was closer to two meters. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


Officials are worried that if lava crosses Highway 130, it will isolate Puna from the rest of the island.

"Puna will be divided into the north side of the flow and the south side of the flow," Ruderman said. "It's going to be a dividing line that didn't exist before."

Raras said they began putting their belongings in storage in September. What they aren't able to take with them, such as furniture, they're photographing for insurance purposes.


HOW LONG WILL THE RISK REMAIN?

No one knows for sure if the lava flow will stop, change direction or hit homes. It is difficult to predict when the flow will stop or if it will start again from another vent.



In this Oct. 24, 2014 photo from the U.S. Geological Survey, the lava flow from Kilauea Volcano that began June 27 is seen as it crossed Apa?a Street near Cemetery Road near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii authorities on Saturday told several dozen residents near the active lava flow to prepare for a possible evacuation in the next three to five days as molten rock oozed across the country road and edged closer to homes. The USGS says the flow is currently about 160 to 230 feet (50 to 70 meters) wide and moving northeast at about 10 yards (nine meters) per hour. It's currently about six-tenths of a mile (one kilometer) from Pahoa Village Road, the town's main street. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)


In the 1990s, about 200 homes were destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea.

The last evacuations from the volcano came in 2011. One home was destroyed and others were threatened before the lava changed course.


CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

Kilauea is home to Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Some residents expressed anger at suggestions to divert the flow. They say it's culturally insensitive to interfere with Pele's will.


YOUNG VOLCANO

The U.S. Geological Survey says Kilauea is the youngest volcano on Hawaii Island. Officials estimate Kilauea's first eruption happened between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago.


DON'T CANCEL VACATION PLANS

The lava isn't a reason to cancel a Big Island vacation because it's an isolated event, but it also shouldn't be considered as a sightseeing opportunity.

Officials have warned people to stay away from the area and imposed flight restrictions because of helicopter tours hoping to see lava.


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