Slow-motion disaster: Key facts about Hawaii lavaAssociated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER 3 hours ago
The lava flow on the Big Island of Hawaii was 225 yards from Pahoa Village Road on Wednesday night. The lava is slowing down but still approaching the village. (Oct. 30)HONOLULU (AP) — Lava that has entered a rural Hawaii town has been described as a disaster in slow motion. After months of creeping through uninhabited areas of the Big Island, it reached Pahoa this week, crossing a residential street, burning down a garden shed and inching toward homes and a main road that goes through downtown.
The lava is from Kilauea, which has been has been actively erupting since 1983 and is one of the world's most active volcanos. Here are some other facts about it:
HOW PREDICTABLE IS THE LAVA'S PATH?
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory have the tools to monitor active volcanos to determine if an eruption is imminent and to forecast a lava flow's path.
But lava is still a natural phenomenon, and much like a hurricane, some uncertainty remains.
The Big Island's topography contributes to deviations in the lava's route, said volcanologist Loyc Vanderkluysen, as assistant professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia who earned a doctorate degree from the University of Hawaii.
Lava surged through the village of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island, as residents were forced to evacuate their homes. The molten stream picked up speed last week after weeks of slow, stop-and-go movement. (Oct. 29)After emerging from a vent in June, the lava started moving through thick vegetation that made it difficult at times to see deviations in topography, he said.
But it's looking like the lava is headed to Pahoa Village Road, which runs through downtown Pahoa.
"Laterally it might be a little to the right or left, but it will head to the road" — unless it suddenly stops moving, Vanderkluysen said.
What's less predictable is where new branches will sprout from the miles-long flow and spread in other directions.
"We don't have a good grasp of where breakouts are going to happen," he said.
This Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows an aerial view of the lava flow over Cemetery Road and Apa?a Street near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Rain fell Wednesday on a red-hot river of lava as it threatened to consume its first home on its slow advance into a rural Hawaii town. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)HOW HOT IS THE LAVA?
About 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. "Ten times hotter than boiling water."
But the temperature starts to drop after the lava is exposed to air.
"The crust cools down, and you can walk on it after a few days," Vanderkluysen said.
CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO STOP IT?
"Lava diversion is a very complex issue," Babb said. "It's a complex legal, political, technical and cultural issue."
Residents have expressed anger at suggestions to divert the Kilauea flow, saying it's culturally insensitive to interfere with the will of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess.
Attempts were made to stop flows from Italy's Mount Etna by building trenches and concrete walls. But that was only partially successful.
Such efforts also are extremely expensive, Vanderkluysen noted.
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