Death bldg. chopped up illegally: city
PAHOA, Hawaii — A new fissure in Hawaii’s Puna District sent gas and lava exploding into the air Sunday, spurring officials to call for more evacuations as residents braced for a possible major eruption at Kilauea volcano’s summit.
Hawaii County Civil Defense issued a cell phone alert after the fissure was discovered Sunday morning. The agency said one “unidentified structure” was destroyed by the 1,000-foot-long vent, bringing the number of homes and buildings lost to lava to nearly 40.
Residents were told to evacuate, and two nearby community centers were serving as shelters for people and pets.
Lava spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighborhood not far from Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents have opened in the past week.
Area resident Richard Schott, 34, sat near a police checkpoint and watched as the eruption churned just over a ridgeline and behind some trees.
“I’ve actually seen rocks fly over the tree line, and I can feel it in my body,” Schott said. “It’s like a nuclear reaction or something.”
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said new fissures, ground deformation and abundant volcanic gas indicate eruptions on Kilauea’s eastern flank are likely to continue.
“The appearance of the fissures in the past couple of days does not change the overall picture or concern,” USGS scientist Steve Brantley said.
Most of the lava outbreaks have occurred in and around the Leilani Estates neighborhood, where molten rock has burst through the ground, destroying more than two dozen homes and resulting in evacuation orders for nearly 2,000 people. The U.S. geological agency has reported nearly 20 active fissures.
Geologists warn that Kilauea’s summit could have an explosive steam eruption that would hurl huge rocks and ash miles into the sky. Volcanoes National Park, where the summit is located, has remained closed as a precaution since Friday.
President Trump opened Hawaii up to federal aid over the weekend, declaring a major disaster in the state.
Hawaiian officials estimate it will cost nearly $3 billion to protect residents from the volcanic chaos over the next month. THE QUEENS building where a man was found dead in the attic a day after the fire was put out was illegally subdivided, according to the Buildings Department.
There was an apartment illegally created in the basement, and multiple single room occupancy units illegally added on the first floor at 40-46 Case St. in Elmhurst, inspectors said.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and rescued one man from the burning three-story building shortly after 5:10 a.m. Seven other residents raced out of the inferno.
A day later, firefighters discovered the body of Golam Sarwar, 39, a fulltime student. His friends went to the cops after he was missing following the blaze. Firefighters were initially unable to check the attic.
The Buildings Department has ordered the property owner to board up the vacated fire-damaged building and to properly seal it. The owner has also been hit with multiple violations for the illegal conversions.
A city lawmaker who represents the area is demanding an investigation and stricter penalties for similar illegally converted houses.
“Similar illegal conversions are common practice in Corona and Elmhurst,” said City Councilman Francisco Moya. “This tragedy might have been prevented if we had stronger laws on the books for absentee and negligent landlords.”