Hawaii volcano eruption forces evacuations

HONOLULU — Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, releasing lava into a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes.

Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island.

County, state and federal officials had been warning residents all week that they should be prepared to evacuate.

Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder didn’t know how many homes were covered by the evacuation order.

Leilani Estates has a population of about 1,500, according to the 2010 U.S. census. But the evacuation order only covers a portion of the neighborhood. Community centers have opened for shelter.

The eruption comes after days of earthquakes rattled the area’s Puna district. A school was closed due to the seismic activity, and several roads cracked under the strain of the constant temblors.

The Puu Oo crater floor began to collapse Monday, triggering earthquakes and pushing the lava into new underground chambers. The collapse caused magma to push more than 10 miles downslope toward the populated southeast coastline. Most of Kilauea’s activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.