Earthquakes latest threat from Hawaii volcano peril

HONOLULU — Officials on Hawaii’s Big Island, where the Kilauea volcano has been spewing huge amounts of lava for months, are bracing for the possibility that frequent earthquakes will cut off a major highway.

Emergency officials dealing with the eruption are turning their focus to the aptly named village of Volcano, where dozens of small earthquakes shake the ground every hour as Kilauea undergoes dramatic changes. The summit caldera is also collapsing, causing even larger temblors almost daily.

Officials are worried about cracks and holes in Highway 11, a 45-minute lifeline connecting a rural district with Hilo, the island’s biggest city. The alternative, driving around the state’s largest island, can take up to three hours.

“It’s the only road going through that section of the island,” said state Sen. Russell Ruderman. “We have to find a way to keep it open.”

A meeting Thursday was set to examine possible evacuation plans, repairs and alternate routes amid continued seismic activity.

The highway concerns prompted officials to move the Volcano Fire Station, inside the now mostly closed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, to a safer area.

Highway 11 is critical for those in the island’s southernmost district to get to medical services in Hilo, on the east side of the island, said Jessie Marques, executive director of the Kau Rural Health Community Association.

An estimated 700 homes have been destroyed.