Toxic gas alert for Hawaii volcano eruption
PAHOA, Hawaii: Residents on the Big Island of Hawaii were alerted on Thursday to rising levels of toxic gas from lava-oozing fissures, and geologists warned that new areas east of the erupting Kilauea volcano may be at risk of molten rock bursting from the ground.
Hawaii County authorities sent a text message to residents of the southeast corner of the island warning them of a wind change that would bring rising levels of sulfur dioxide gas, which can be fatal if inhaled in large quantities.
“It’s just horrible. You can’t breathe in there,” said evacuated resident Robynn Stagg, 58, who drove through the thick, orange sulfur dioxide haze earlier this week in a failed attempt to check on her home.
Hawaii’s governor has warned that mass evacuations may be required as more fissures open in the ground and spew lava and gas into semi- rural residential areas on the east flank of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
During an evening meeting with community members, an official with the United States Geological Sur vey’s Hawai i Vol c ano Observatory said that while no new fissures have opened during the last 24 hours, there has been ‘quite a bit’ of ground cracking over the last day and that they were releasing steam.
“Because the lava intrusion is still active and earthquakes are still occurring, we still think there’s a decent chance of new eruptive activity at the surface,” Steven Brantley said.
Authorities on Thursday completed the removal of highly f lammable chemicals from a nearby geothermal power plant that was in the path of creeping lava.
The latest upheaval at Kilauea began last week after the crater f loor of a long- active side vent collapsed suddenly in a cloud of ash, triggering a similar plunge in the molten lake inside the larger crater at the volcano’s summit.
What followed was a flurry of earthquakes as huge volumes of magma — the term for lava beneath the surface — drained back through deep-underground passages that carried the molten rock far downslope. The lava then forced its way back to the surface through large cracks, or fissures, that opened at ground level in a residential area kilometres away.
Geologists said Kilauea may be entering a new phase of explosive eruptions not seen in nearly a century that could hurl ‘ballistic blocks’ weighing up to 12 tons for 800 metres, and rain pebble-sized fragments for another 1.8 to 3.2 km.
However, the immedi ate vicinity around the summit, an area controlled by the National Park Service, was to be closed to visitors indefinitely, starting on Thursday night.