Park closed as fears of violent eruption grow
The national park around Hawaii’s Kilauea has been made off limits to visitors for fear the volcano will blow its top in the coming days and hurl ash and boulders the size of refrigerators kilometres into the air.
‘‘If it goes up, it will come down,’’ said Charles Mandeville, volcano hazards coordinator for the US Geological Survey. ‘‘You don’t want to be underneath anything that weighs 10 tons (9 tonnes) when it’s coming out at 120mph (193kmh).’’
An explosive eruption could also ground planes at one of the Big Island’s two major airports and release steam and toxic sulphurous fumes.
The volcano park was closed indefinitely yesterday because of the risks.
Kilauea has been sputtering lava for a week, forcing about 2000 people to evacuate, destroying two dozen homes and threatening a geothermal plant. Scientists are now warning of the possibility of a violent eruption caused by trapped steam.
‘‘We know the volcano is capable of doing this,’’ Mandeville said, citing similar explosions at Kilauea in 1925, 1790 and four other times over the last few thousand years. ‘‘We know it is a distinct possibility.’’
The danger zone from such a blast could extend about 5km from the summit, land that all fell within the national park, Mandeville said. No-one lives in the immediate area of the summit.
He would not estimate the likelihood of such an explosion but said internal volcanic conditions were changing in a way that could lead to a blast in about a week.
Kilauea has destroyed 36 structures – including 26 homes – since May 3, when it began releasing lava from vents about 40km east of the summit crater. Fifteen vents are now spread through the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens neighbourhoods.
US President Donald Trump yesterday approved Hawaii Governor David Ige’s request for a presidential disaster declaration for the Big Island as the state copes with the eruption.
The declaration means federal assistance will be available as the state covers costs associated with damaged roads, public parks, schools and water pipes. It will also cover costs for geologists, and security personnel at roadblocks.
State officials estimate it will cost more than US$2.9 million to protect residents over the next 30 days. The costs will skyrocket if there needs to be large-scale air and sea evacuations. Ige said a mass evacuation would be beyond county and state capabilities.
Ige said crews at a geothermal energy plant near the lava outbreak had accelerated the removal of stored flammable fuel as a precaution.
Barbara Lozano, who lives within 2km of the plant, said she would have thought twice about buying her property if she had known the risks.
Avani Love, 29, moved to the Big Island about a month ago from Maui with her four children. They evacuated their home on May 3, and found out it was destroyed when a relative went back to get some belongings.
She said she was sad to lose her home but also felt a sense of renewal brought on by Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. She said the eruption was Pele’s way of correcting overpopulation of the island.
‘‘Everyone comes here. When you have that, it’s Pele’s way of clearing house and restoring the place. There’s beauty and also darkness.’’
If the volcano blows its stack, communities about 3km away could be showered with pea-size rocks or dusted with non-toxic ash, said Tina Neal, scientist in charge at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory.
The small town of Volcano, population 2500, is about 5km from the summit. Janet Coney, office manager of the Kilauea Lodge, an inn and restaurant, said officials had told her that employees probably wouldn’t have to worry about rocks raining down on them but might experience falling ash.
Scientists believe that the lava that has been erupting in residential neighbourhoods since last week is magma that has been stored in the ground since Kilauea erupted in the same area 63 years ago.
Neal said yesterday that an analysis of rock samples indicated the lava’s chemistry was similar to that from a 1955 eruption. This was why the lava had been cool and moving a little sluggishly.
Neal said fresher, hotter lava could emerge because magma had been moving down Kilauea’s rift zone, towards the area where the volcano is erupting. Hotter, fresher and gassier magma could result in more voluminous lava flows. Fresher magma could also produce lava fountains that shot higher into the air, and larger, faster-moving lava flows.