More island homes lost

The number of houses and buildings destroyed by Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano has skyrocketed in recent days, and more than 82 structures have been ruined by the lava.

About 6070ha has been wrecked by the lava since the volcano started erupting at the beginning of this month.

The fissures, smaller eruptions and several earthquakes have shown no sign of slowing down over the last three weeks.

Nasa said one fissure has spewed enough lava in the past few days to create a channel that could reach Hawaii’s southern coast.

So far, more than 20 fissures have opened up in the area surrounding the volcano on Big Island, which have released lava, sulphur dioxide and toxic steam into the atmosphere.

A third lava stream has hit the ocean, which creates a chemical by-product called laze — an extremely toxic, dangerous gas that can leave victims seriously ill.

More than 2000 residents have been evacuated from the island, and the US Army is standing by with Marine helicopters to start evacuating citizens.

Tourism officials say the Big Island has lost about US$3 million for May, June and July as major cruise lines have cancelled planned stops because of the erupting volcano.

Ross Birch of the island’s tourism board says Norwegian Cruise Lines will resume visits to Kona on the west side of the island on May 30 but skip Hilo on the east side, roughly 50km from the Kilauea volcano.