Nature's Disasters
Lava Flow From Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano
Advancing Toward Pahoa, Evacuations Possible
Residents living in the flow path of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano may soon have to evacuate. Hawaiian authorities urged residents to prepare for possible evacuations within three to five days. Lava flow from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has picked up speed and is quickly advancing on the remote town of Pahoa in the Puna district of the Big Island. By Saturday morning, the lava flow had crossed Apaa Street and continues to flow northeast at 10 yards per hour. The lava flow is 160-230 feet
wide and is six-tenths of a mile from the town's main road, Pahoa Village Road.
It's not clear when it might reach the village road as the flow has been advancing erratically, said Matt Patrick, a geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Officials were going door-to door to about 50 homes to keep residents informed of the lava's movement, said Darryl Oliveira, the director of civil defense for Hawaii County. "This is all something we've been preparing for and hoping wouldn't have to happen," Oliveira said. The county will issue a mandatory evacuation order if the flow begins advancing at such a rate that it would be difficult for people to move out of the way with little notice, Oliveira said. The presence of hazardous materials - like a pile of tires or a stockpile of chemicals - in the flow's path would also trigger a mandatory evacuation order, he said. Burning asphalt was generating some smoke, but Oliveira said the wind dispersed the fumes over unpopulated areas and it didn't pose a health risk at the moment. Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Most lava from this eruption has flowed south. But the lava has flowed to the northeast over the past two years.
The current flow that has been threatening Pahoa began in June. It's been moving fitfully toward the town for weeks, speeding up and then slowing down. Sporadic suspensions in the lava's movement gave emergency crews time to work on building alternate routes to town in the event the flow covers the main road and highway. Crews near the leading edge have been wrapping power poles with concrete rings as a layer of protection from the lava's heat. The lava's pace picked up in recent days when it reached a gully, allowing it to move more efficiently like rain in a gutter. Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Friday asked for a presidential disaster declaration to get federal help for local emergency crews.