Hawaii's Kilauea volcano lava reaches sea, injures man on third-floor balcony
Updated
A volcano that is oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaii's Big Island has become more hazardous, with rivers of molten rock flowing into the ocean and flying lava causing the first major injury.
Key points:
- Lava hitting ocean sends hydrochloric acid and steam with glass particles into air
- Man's leg "shattered" by lava splatter
- Experts say it is hard to predict when eruption will end
Kilauea volcano began erupting more than two weeks ago and has burned dozens of homes, forced people to flee and shot up plumes of steam from its summit that led officials to distribute face masks to protect against ash particles.
Lava flows have grown more vigorous in past days, spattering molten rock that hit a man in the leg.
He was on a third-floor balcony at his home in the remote, rural region affected by the volcano when the lava "hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg", Hawaii County Mayor's spokeswoman, Janet Snyder, told Hawaii News Now.
Lava flying through the air from cracks in the Earth can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces can be lethal, officials said.
The injury came the same day lava streamed across a highway and flowed into the ocean.
The phenomenon sends hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles into the air and can lead to lung damage and eye and skin irritation, another danger for residents, the Hawaii County Civil Defence agency said.
Main roads have been shut down in some spots, and residents in the area have been evacuated.
With the problems compounding, scientists can't say whether lava flows from nearly two dozen fissures will keep advancing or stop.
"We have no way of knowing whether this is really the beginning or toward the end of this eruption," University of Hawaii volcanologist Tom Shea said.
"We're kind of all right now in this world of uncertainty."
The area affected by lava and ash is small compared with the Big Island, which is about 10,360 square kilometres.
The volcano has spared most of the island and the rest of the Hawaiian chain.
Officials have reminded tourists that flights, including on the Big Island, have not been affected.
Even on the Big Island, most tourist activities are available and businesses are open.
Evacuation orders for two neighbourhoods with nearly 2,000 people were given after the first fissure opened on May 3.
Officials have been warning neighbouring communities to be prepared to evacuate.
Lava flows have sped up as fresher magma mixes with decades-old magma, creating hotter and more fluid flows, scientists said.
Two fissures had merged by Saturday, creating a wide flow moving at up to 274 metres per hour.
AP
Topics: volcanic-eruption, disasters-and-accidents, hawaii, united-states
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