Tag Archives: Lava

Hawaii To Let Residents Watch Lava Destroy Homes

The state of Hawaii has announced they will create a staging area where residents of the community of Pahoa will be able to watch the lava from the Kilauea volcano consume their homes.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira told the Associated Press it’s a way to help the residents find “a means of closure” in the situation.

The lava was reported to be 70 yards from the first home in its path on Tuesday morning.

A spokeswoman for the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said that the lava’s pace is being controlled by the topography of the area and in some places has slowed significantly as the lava moves up small inclines.

Oliveira says that many of the residents in the path of the volcano have already made arrangements to live somewhere else or have just left their homes in anticipation of the lava.  He said he doesn’t believe he will need to issue a mandatory evacuation order.

The last time lava threatened homes was in 2011, when one home was destroyed before the lava changed course.

Lava Threatens Hawaiian Town

The lava flow from a Hawaiian volcano is threatening to overtake a town.

The flow from the Kilauea volcano, which has been continuously erupting since 1983, has crossed the border of the community of Pahoa.  The flow covered the town’s cemetery over the weekend and is steadily progressing toward homes.

“The flow continues to remain active and has advanced approximately 275 yards since yesterday morning,” government officials reported Monday morning.

The Associated Press says the lava flow has been slowly moving toward the town for the last two years.  The governor has asked for a Presidential disaster declaration to make federal money available for evacuation and relocation of the town’s residents.

“The effect of the destruction and/or isolation of the businesses and other institutions in Pahoa will be devastating to the entire Puna District,” the governor wrote in his request, according to West Hawaii Today.