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Hawaii volcanic eruption threatens power plant
There are fears an erupting volcano in Hawaii could threaten a geothermal power plant on the Big Island.
8
May, 2018
The
plant is located less then two kilometres away from where the Kilauea
volcano began erupting last week.
A
volcanic fissure with lava fountains as high as about 70m in Leilani
Estates, Hawaii. Photo: AFP
About
60,000 gallons of a highly flammable liquid are stored on the Puna
Geothermal site from where staff have been evacuated.
Nearby
at the Leilani Estates subdivision, two new fissures spewing
hazardous fumes and lava have opened in the ground bringing the total
number to 12.
This
image released by the US Geological Survey shows the Kilauea Volcano
summit lava lake which has dropped significantly over the past few
days. Photo: AFP
About
35 structures have been destroyed including at least 25 homes with
more than 1700 people evacuated.
Officials
said they were taking a zero tolerance to any looting or vandalism in
evacuated areas.
No
deaths or injuries had been reported but as more fissures opened
tourists and locals were warned to heed safety warnings.
Geologist
Janet Babb from the US Geological Survey said as seismic activity
continued to shake the area the situation remained fluid.
"We
are learning things... we are collecting lava samples, samples of
each fissure as they have erupted. And so those samples have now been
analysed and so we're beginning to understand more about what is
going on below the ground."
Officials
would update locals at a community meeting tonight.
Meanwhile,
New Zealand vulcanologist Brad Scott said the continuing eruption was
likely to generate more earthquakes.
Small
tremors continue to be felt in the Big Island's eastern corner after
the eruption produced a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Friday.
The
lava lake at Kilauea's summit was draining into the eastern rift zone
and escaping through the new fissures, he said.
"Enormous
volumes of molten material are moving in the volcano, pushing their
way down the rift."
"So
as a consequence of all of that molten material moving it's stressing
and straining the volcano. It has generated many of the earthquakes.
And as the Hawaiians are saying it's expected to generate more
earthquakes as the eruption continues."
"We've Never Seen Anything Like This" - Hawaii Officials Warn Residents Of Dangerous Volcanic Smog
More than four days after the first fissures opened up in the ground surrounding Hawaii's Mt. Kilauea, the volcano's destructive eruptions continued on Monday, destroying more buildings in the island's tony Leilani Estates neighborhood, CNN reported.
Lava
and hazardous gases are bubbling up through the cracks in the
volcano's East Rift Zone, a
situation that has been exacerbated by a series of powerful
Earthquakes that rocked the area late last week.
High
levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide has been released into the air,
forcing the government to issue a warning to residents living
downwind from the volcano. Already,
nearly 2,000 residents of the surrounding area have fled or been
evacuated. They include residents of Leilani estates and the nearby
Lanipuna Gardens.
But
while the lava has caught the attention of photographers who've
snapped thousands of pictures of the glowing red substance devouring
homes, the Washington
Post reports
that an unseen danger has been threatening visitors and residents
alike.
Watch Magma From Hawaii's Kilauea Consume A Car In Upscale Neighborhood
Since
erupting last Thursday, Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has destroyed at
least 30 homes and forced over 1,700 residents to flee as hot magma
shoots through nine fissures which have opened up in the ground -
spewing molten rock, toxic gas and steam into the air.
Incredible footage shows the lava flow during this morning's fissure eruption on the east side of Hawaii's Big Island. More than 1,800 residents have been evacuated from their homes. abcn.ws/2KGin9D
Lava is no joke. Praying for our Ohana on the big island. 30 homes gone. 11 fissures open. #LeilaniEstates #Lava #Earthquake #LavaFlow #Kilauea #LeilaniEstatesEruption
The
magma has been making its way through several upscale neighborhoods,
including the Leilani Estates near the town of Pahoa on the Big
Island, where ongoing eruptions along with several powerful
earthquakes have cut off power and water to locals.
"I have no idea how soon we can get back," said Todd Corrigan, who left his home in Leilani Estates with his wife Friday as lava burst through the ground three or four blocks from their home. They spent the night on the beach in their car and began looking for a vacation rental.
Hawaii County civil defense officials said two new fissures opened overnight, bringing the total to nine that opened in the neighborhood since Thursday. U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Wendy Stovall said that with the two new fissures, the total was 10, though one of the new ones had already stopped producing lava. -CBS
The USGS is doing a great job providing updates on the eruptions in Leilani Estates buff.ly/2HUQvkD
also follow @USGSVolcanoes
Here is a thermal image of the crater:
Twitter user @bclemms posted a video of magma consuming a car:
Time Lapse of giant #lava flow consuming car, telephone pole falling
Date: 5-6-2018
Location: Leilani Estates, Hi #LeilaniEstates #Leilani #Hawaii #volcano
Some
evacuees were briefly allowed back to their homes to gather medicine,
pets and other necessities. Authorities, however have warned
residents that no commercial masks sold in stores and available to
the general public - including those known as N-95, will protect
against sulfur dioxide (SO), and that first responders
require special masks and training not available to private
citizens.
Scientists
expect more lava to find its way through additional vents near the
Leilani Estates, but are unable to predict with certainty.
Why was #LeilaniEstates allowed to be developed? Flows from the 1955 #KilaueaEruption (red areas on map) showed area has HIGH hazard for future eruptions & flows? Eastern edge of development even has prominent craters (yellow areas) Seems at best ignorant & at worst negligent.
Steaming cracks at 5:57 a.m. HST #Hawaii #Kilauea #volcano in the #LeilaniEstates area just before a fissure opened up on Kaupili Street..
Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983 and is one of the world's most active volcanoes. In 2014, lava burned a house and smothered a cemetery as it approached Pahoa, the town closest to Leilani Estates. But this flow stalled just before it reached Pahoa's main road.Nearly 30 years ago, lava slowly covered an entire town, Kalapana, over the period of about a year. -CBS
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