Volcano danger forces more evacuations
PAHOA: Emergency crews ordered Hawaiians to leave their homes yesterday after two new fissures opened up near the Kilauea volcano, almost a week after it started a series of huge explosions.
People in the Lanipuna Gardens neighbourhood in the southeast corner of Big Island were told there was an ‘‘immediate danger’’.
‘‘The residents . . . are going through a very difficult time. We ask for your understanding. We ask for your help,’’ the Hawaii Civil Defence Agency said in an alert.
Kilauea started spewing fountains of lava as high as 90m into the air on Friday.
Walls of molten rock destroyed houses in the southeastern corner of the island as deadly volcanic gases rose through cracks in the earth.
Around 1700 people have already been ordered to leave their properties.
No deaths or major injuries have been reported.
But two new fissures — the 13th and 14th — formed yesterday and started releasing toxic gases, the agency said.
A total of 36 structures have been torched by the lava, which can reach temperatures of 1093degC.
Lava has been bubbling out of about 4km of fissures that officials have warned are slowly spreading eastwards.
Leilani Estates, about 19km from the volcano, was evacuated due to the risk of sulphur dioxide gas, which can be lifethreatening at high levels.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency yesterday sent an advance team to Hawaii but the agency had not declared an emergency, Fema spokeswoman Brandi Richard said in a phone interview.
Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes and one of five on the island, has been in constant eruption for 35 years.