Hawaiians may return home as lava flow ‘stabilises’
HONOLULU: Officials on Hawaii’s Big Island let some people back into their homes and scaled down emergency operations as lava flowed into the ocean on a path that wasn’t threatening new areas.
“We’ve pretty much thrown everything at this event” since a series of lava fissures began emerging from cracks in the neighbourhood last month, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency Administrator Talmadge Magno said on Monday.
“Some aspects of it can start to scale down as the volcano somewhat runs into a stable situation.”
His definition of stable means lava continues to flow along a path towards the ocean that isn’t threatening new areas. It was flowing north and then east towards a community the lava wiped out last week.
Officials are transitioning to recovery efforts, with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is starting to do damage assessments, Magno said.
Lava has destroyed more than 600 homes.
There was “not a lot of change” to the lava flow, said Janet Babb, a geologist with the USGS’ Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Lava was shooting into the sky from one vent and there was “weak” activity at two other fis- sures, which weren’t producing much of a flow and not advancing very far, Babb said.
It’s possible a new fissure will open or vigorous flows could emerge from vents that have been inactive.
In the meantime, fewer workers are needed to staff a 24-hour operations centre and officials are reducing checkpoints, Magno said.
Half of the residents of a subdivision that had been ordered to evacuate after a fissure opened there on May 3 were being allowed to return starting last week. Only residents are allowed there.
The other half of the residents in a more vulnerable area are allowed back during the day if conditions are safe.