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Kilauea eruption: As many as 700 homes destroyed on Hawaii's Big Island

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk

PUNA, BIG ISLAND, HAWAII — Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate over the past month as Hawaii's Kilauea volcano continues erupting, spewing rivers of lava and molten rock over rural districts on the Big Island.

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Update 11 a.m. EDT June 12: Officials believe that as many as 700 homes have been destroyed as lava continues to flow on Hawaii's Big Island since the eruption of the Kilauea volcano began on May 3, according to Hawaii News Now.

"There a lot of desperation out there, a lot of tears. A lot of what now?" Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said Monday at a news conference.

Bob Fenton, an administrator for FEMA, told Hawaii News Now on Monday that he was "amazed at the amount of devastation" caused by the eruption after taking a flight over areas ravaged by lava.

Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory warned early Tuesday that another small explosion took place at Kilauea's summit.

The earthquakes that preceded the explosion were "widely felt in the Volcano area," officials said.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency warned residents to be wary of ash fallout as a result of the eruption.

Update 5:02 a.m. EDT June 8: Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim said lava from Kilauea has destroyed more than 600 homes since early last month. That total includes about 320 homes in Kapoho and all of the homes in Vacationland, the Star Advertiser of Honolulu reported.

Meanwhile, some of the parking lots outside some evacuation shelters in Puna have been transformed into tent villages, Hawaii News Now reported.

Update 11:00 p.m. EDT June 7: Since Mount Kilauea started erupting on May 3, lava has destroyed more than 400 homes. Now it seems molten rock has also destroyed a 400-year-old lake, which vanished over the weekend, according to Hawaii News Now.

Green Lake, also known as Ka Wai a Pele, was Hawaii's largest freshwater natural resource and a favorite swimming spot for Islanders. Now it’s gone.

Officials said the lake disappeared after lava entered the water basin, turning the lake water into steam and leaving in its place a lake of lava.

Update 3:15 p.m. EDT June 6: Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shared a photo Wednesday of lava flows covering Kapoho Bay and Vacationland and warned that a fissure opened by the ongoing Kilauea eruption was "still very active."

"It's a slow-moving flow. Nothing stops it," Talmadge Magno, administrator for Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, told Hawaii News Now. "The volcano is going strong."

The news station reported that there are at least 350 homes in Kapoho Beach Lots and 140 in Vacationland. Authorities believe a majority of those homes have been lost, according to Hawaii News Now.

"It's saddening. It's disheartening to see it go like that," Jason Hill, whose father lives in Kapoho, told Hawaii News Now. "The anxiety lies in what happens next."

Update 5:45 a.m. EDT June 6: Hundreds of homes have been destroyed on Hawaii's Big Island after lava "completely filled Kapoho Bay, inundated most of Vacationland and covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots," The Associated Press reported late Tuesday.

That’s in addition to the 117 homes that were destroyed previously, officials said.

Read more here.

Update 11:05 p.m. EDT June 4: Lava has burned down 117 homes over the past four weeks as Kilauea continues its powerful upheaval with no end in site, Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder told The Associated Press.

It has been hard for authorities to keep track of the number of structures that have burned because it was hard to tell the difference between homes and other structures from aerial surveys, the AP reported.

Update 9:25 a.m. EDT June 4: Kilauea summit was rocked by a 5.5 earthquake, the Hawaii County Civil Defense announced. The quake sent an ash plume 8,000 feet in the air, CNN reported. 

There was no tsunami warning, but officials said that the earthquake will affect the volcano and warned of aftershocks.

There were 500 earthquakes in the area over 24-hours this weekend, CNN reported.

Update 3 p.m. EDT June 3: The National Guard told Hawaii News Now that the Honolulu Fire Department evacuated three people Sunday morning by helicopter after lava flows stranded them in an isolated area of Kapoho and Vacationland.

No injuries were reported, according to the news station.

Update 12:45 p.m. EDT June 3: Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that “vigorous lava eruptions” continued Sunday morning in Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens.

A map shared one day earlier by USGS officials showed lava moving toward the coast, cutting some residents off from the rest of the Big Island. 

Officials said that lava was flowing about 500 yards from the Kapoho tidepools Sunday morning. The flow front was about half a mile wide.

Update 8:13 a.m. EDT June 3: Hawaii Civil Defense Service officials warned residents to evacuate or risk being cut off by the hot lava, CNN reported. There is no power, cell reception, landlines or county water, officials said.

Authorities are planning to airlift people out of the area if the lava spreads farther and endangers the holdouts, CNN reported.

More than 80 structures have been destroyed in the eruption that started May 3. It has since inundated almost 325 acres around Kilauea with lava and led to concerns about laze, a toxic mixture of lava and haze that forms when hot lava hits ocean waters.

>> What is laze? Hawaii volcano lava reaches the Pacific Ocean

Update 7:14 a.m. EDT June 3: The fissure 8 flow continues to advance into the Kapoho Crater, the Star Advertiser of Honolulu reported.

Update 9:14 p.m. EDT June 2: Seven people were cited for loitering disaster zone and will have to appear in court, according to KHNL.

The people were in lower Puna Friday night, where mandatory evacuation orders are in place.

Update 3:52 p.m. EDT June 2: Mandatory evacuations are underway in Hawaii Island's Leilani Estates neighborhood  as "vigorous lava eruptions" threaten more homes, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said.

The order issued by Mayor Harry Kim on Thursday states those who stay do so at their own risk and may not be rescued by first responders.

"They are being asked to leave. Period," county spokeswoman Janet Snyder told reporters.

Update 10:10 a.m. EDT May 23: Officials said all 11 wells at Puna Geothermal Venture's plant on Hawaii's Big Island had been successfully plugged by Tuesday as lava continued to inch toward the plant, Hawaii News Now reported.

"The well field at PGV is essentially safe," Hawaii Emergency Management Administrator Thomas Travis said, according to the news station. "The probability of anything happening if lava enters the well field is very, very low. They should feel pretty comfortable that there should be no untoward events from Puna Geothermal, assuming the lava doesn't change its pattern or flow."

Reuters reported Monday that workers were scrambling to plug the plant's wells to avoid an "uncontrollable release of toxic gasses."

Update 4:37 p.m. EDT May 22: Lava continued to flow Tuesday on Hawaii's Big Island, creating toxic laze as it hit ocean waters.

Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said a majority of the lava was flowing Tuesday from a trio of fissures that have opened in recent days.

This thermal map shows the fissure system and lava flows as of 12:15 pm on Monday, May 21. Here are some quick points...

Posted by USGS Volcanoes on Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Update 11:56 a.m. EDT May 22: The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory released video Tuesday of lava hitting the ocean one day earlier, creating a toxic laze plume.

Laze is formed when lava enters the ocean, setting off a series of chemical reactions and cooling the lava until it transforms into glass, which shatters, according to USGS officials. It creates white clouds of steam that contain toxic gas and tiny shards of volcanic glass.

Update 10:18 a.m. EDT May 22: Officials with the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency warned Tuesday of another "explosive eruption" at Kilauea's summit

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the explosion around 3:45 a.m.

"The resulting ash plume may affect the surrounding areas," officials warned. "The wind may carry the ash plume to the southwest toward Wood Valley, Pahala, Naalehu and Waiohinu."

Authorities said the biggest hazard from Tuesday's early morning eruption is likely to be ash fallout. Residents were asked to stay indoors and keep windows closed.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials warned in an update Monday afternoon that "additional explosions (are) possible at any time" on Kilauea's summit.

Update 11:15 p.m. EDT May 21: Lava is flowing toward a geothermal power plant on Hawaii's Big Island as Mount Kilauea continues its violent eruptions.

Reuters is reporting that workers are scrambling to shut down the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) plant to prevent the "uncontrollable release of toxic gases."

The plant provides about 25 percent of the Big Island's power, but has been closed since the volcanic eruptions started on May 3.

Update 12:35 p.m. EDT May 21: Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said early Monday that a small explosion happened just before 1 a.m. local time at the Halemaumau crater at Kilauea's summit.

The explosion shot ash about 7,000 feet into the air.

"Additional explosive events that could produce minor amounts of ashfall downwind are possible at any time," USGS officials said.

The Hawaiian County Civil Defense Agency warned residents to be aware of ashfall after the "explosive eruption."

This is a Civil Defense Message for Monday, May 21 at 1:45 AM, for the area of Kau. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory...

Posted by Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency on Monday, May 21, 2018

Update 12:38 p.m. May 20: Lava from the Kilauea volcano has crossed Highway 137 and entered the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaii County Civil Defense said Sunday. A second lava flow is about 437 yards from the highway, the Star Advertiser of Honolulu reported.

Big Island residents may now have to contend with laze -- a mixture of lava and haze -- that forms when hot lava hits the ocean, CNN reported.

After making contact with the water, the laze sends hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass particles into the air.

Laze can lead to lung, eye and skin irritation, CNN reported.

"This hot, corrosive gas mixture caused two deaths immediately adjacent to the coastal entry point in 2000, when seawater washed across recent and active lava flows," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory wrote on its website.

Officials have told people to avoid areas where lava meets the ocean, CNN reported.

Powerful eruptions accompanied by thunderous booms punctuated the air Friday around Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island.

The volcano spewed lava bombs the size of cows as molten rock flowed from several of the 22 fissures that have opened around the volcano.

Update May 19, 2018, 2 a.m. EDT: Fast-moving lava isolated about 40 homes in a rural subdivision, forcing at least four people to be evacuated by county and National Guard helicopters, the Star-Advertiser of Honolulu reported.

According to the Hawaii County Civil Defense, police, firefighters and National Guard troops were stopping people from entering the area.

Update May 18, 2018 11:30 p.m. EDT: Hawaiian authorities have sent the National Guard, police and fire units into the East Rift Zone in Puna, according to the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency.

“There are approximately 40 homes in the area that are isolated. Officials are gaining access by helicopter to the area to assess how many people are there and if they need assistance. All persons in that area are asked to stay where they are and wait for further instructions,” the agency said on its website.

The Hawaii Volcano Observatory has confirmed another fissure opened on Friday, bringing the total number of fissures to 22.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as Kilauea continues its violent eruptions.

Update May 18, 2018 8:35 a.m EDT:  More lava is spewing from the Kilauea volcano as the 21st fissure opened Thursday, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, state officials have been handing out masks to protect people who live near Kilauea, ABC News reported. About 18,000 masks have been distributed, CNN reported. The safety measure protects residents from breathing in pieces of rock, glass and crystals that fall as the volcano continues to erupt, ABC News reported.

Update May 17, 2018 10:45 p.m EDT: Lava is erupting from points along the fissure system on Kilauea volcano, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the agency is calling it a "low-level eruption" at this point.

Although lava is still spattering from Fissure 17, the flow has not advanced significantly over the past day, the USGS said.

There are currently 18 fissures that have opened due to seismic activity on Kilauea’ over the past two weeks.

Volcanic gas emissions are still elevated throughout the area and residents are urged to remain on alert.

"This eruption is still evolving and additional outbreaks of lava are possible. Ground deformation continues and seismicity remains elevated in the area," the USGS reported late Thursday.

Rain on the Big Island Thursday helped the situation with the ashfall, but volcano experts are warning the situation on Kilauea is  still very dynamic.

(Previous story)

Several schools were closed as ash continued to fall Thursday due to elevated sulfur dioxide levels. Officials warned people in the area to take shelter and protect themselves from the falling ash.

"The resulting ash plume will cover the surrounding area," officials with the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in a 5 a.m. alert. In a subsequent update, USGS officials said the ash plume was moving to the northeast.

The plume could be seen in an image taken from a webcam at the USGS' Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

"Driving conditions may be dangerous so if you are driving pull off the road and wait until visibility improves," the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency warned.

Michelle Coombs, of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, told Hawaii News Now that the situation remained "very, very active and very dynamic," on Thursday.

“The potential for larger explosions is still there,” she said.

Officials with the USGS warned Tuesday that an eruption of Kilauea's volcano appeared "imminent."

The eruption on Kilauea began May 3. It has since forced thousands of people from their homes, destroyed nearly 40 structures -- including dozens of homes -- and created more than two dozen fissures in the ground surrounding the volcano.

Check back for updates to this developing story.

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