Hawaii volcano eruption: Shocking video shows residents’ homes destroyed by lava flow
LAVA flows from the Hawaii volcano Mount Kilauea were filmed destroying homes in the Leilani Estates in Pahoa, Hawaii, as the volcano continues to erupt for the third week.
Lava flows from the Hawaii volcano destroyed homes in the Leilani Estates, as so far 80 houses have been destroyed and thousands of people have been evacuated since May 3.
Wendy Stovall, a Volcanologist from USGS said: “Mount Kilauea is still erupting at two locations and the summit has been pretty active.
“There has been over 300 earthquakes in the past 48 hours and at least a dozen earthquakes between the magnitudes of 3 and 4. Yesterday the largest was a magnitude of 4.
“Lava flows continue to erupt from the central issue and right around the eastern edge of the Leilani Estates.”
CNN • USGS
Lava flows continue to erupt from the central issue and right around the eastern edge of the Leilani Estates
This follows after a flow of lava has once again entered the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) - a geothermal plant which provides a quarter of Big Island’s electricity, according to USGS.
The plant was thought to be out of the line of danger, but fresh concerns have been raised as fissures 21 and 7, near the plant, burst open with fresh lava again yesterday.
Authorities have shut down the plant, moved approximately 50,000 gallons of flammable chemical pentane and deactivated wells that tap into steam and gas deep in the Earth's crust.
One resident said he had been told by the USGS that “what has been coming out is just a small fraction of what was in the volcano,” indicating that we could see a lot more destruction before this activity ends.
Residents are still at risk of lava haze - laze - caused by streams of lava which have reached the Pacific.
Laze is a deadly acid steam formed when lava hits the ocean which has been likened to battery acid due to its high toxicity levels.
Officials have prepared contingency plans for a possible helicopter evacuation of up to 1,000 residents in a coastal area south of the fissures should their last exit route, be blocked by lava or become unsafe due to gaping cracks.
The eruption has cost the State of Hawaii and Hawaii County so far since May 3 more than £295,000 ($400,000) in emergency protective measures for the lava flow and earthquakes in the Kilauea East Rift Zone.