Danger rolls in
Lava advances along a street near a fissure in Leilani Estates in Pahoa, Hawaii. The Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory said eight volcanic vents opened in the Big Island residential neighbourhood following eruptions from the Kilauea volcano.
PahOa: The number of homes destroyed by lava shooting out of openings in the ground created by Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano climbed to five as some of the more than 1,700 people who evacuated prepared for the possibility they may not return for quite some time.
“I have no idea how soon we can get back,” said Todd Corrigan, who left his home in Leilani Estates with his wife on Friday as lava burst through the ground three or four blocks from their home.
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory said eight vents, each several hundred metres long, opened in the neighbourhood since Thursday. By late Saturday the fissures had quieted down and were only releasing steam and gas.
Scientists said Kilauea was likely to release more lava through additional vents, but they were unable to predict exactly where. Leilani Estates, a subdivision in the mostly rural district of Puna, is at greatest risk.
Hundreds of small earthquakes continued to rumble through the area Saturday, one day after a magnitude-6.9 temblor hit. Magma moving through Kilauea set off the earthquakes, said geologists, who warned of aftershocks.
Authorities cautioned sulfuric gas pouring out of the vents also posed dangers, particularly to elderly and people with respiratory problems.