Why Hawaii's Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/why-hawaiis-newest-eruption-makes-volcanologists-nervous/559685/Why Hawaii's Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous
“There’s not a lot of words to capture a gradual, slow-developing disaster like this.”
A plume of ash rises from Kilauea Volcano on May 3, 2018. USGS / Reuters
Robinson Meyer 3:57 PM ET Science
An ordinary American neighborhood has been evacuated ... because of a volcano.
On Thursday evening, Hawaii County ordered roughly 1,500 people near Pahoa, Hawaii, to leave their homes. The cause: A new lava fissure opened on Kilauea, a massive volcano in the southeast of the state’s Big Island. Lava from the fissure has come within several hundred yards of homes, threatening two subdivisions in the area. The fissure is also releasing toxic amounts of sulfur dioxide, according to Hawaii News Now.
A ponderous lava flow, moving through trees: It’s not exactly the sudden explosion that many Americans imagine when they hear the words volcanic eruption. But for exactly that reason, “it’s the kind of eruption that makes volcanologists nervous,” says Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University.
Right now, the U.S. Geological Survey is still trying to understand the new fissure. If the lava flow stabilizes, residents could return to unharmed homes in a week or two. But if the new fissure follows a pattern set by other fissures on Kilauea, then the evacuation could “last for a prolonged period of time,” says Klemetti.
And “because it tends to fall out of public view, it can have a long-term impact on the communities,” he says. It’s happened several times before.
Kilauea is “unlike a lot of volcanoes because it’s a shield volcano”—meaning it has long, sloping sides—“and because it’s huge,” Klemetti says. “The scale of it is hard to comprehend until you’re on the volcano and you realize you can drive 20 miles and still be on the volcano.”
snip//
For now, it’s too early to know what the new lava fissure will mean for Leilani Estates. “It might be at least months of lava flows. Or it might just end now,” Klemetti says. “There’s a likelihood that this is the establishment of a new lava-flow field and that it might be in action for a while.”
“There’s not a lot of words to capture a gradual, slow-developing disaster like this,” he tells me. “Even disaster doesn’t seem like the right word, because it implies something instantaneous or rapidly developing—and this isn’t. But it will still be quite a disaster for people whose homes are taken out.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/why-hawaiis-newest-eruption-makes-volcanologists-nervous/559685/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Who knew, or knows? 
who have to abandon their homes and stay in shelters, because of earthquakes and the Kilauea Volcano erupting!
Quite the Plume.. I wish the best Aloha
Probably the most famous one in relatively recent history was the late 18th century eruption of Laki in Iceland. It disgorged nearly 15 cubic kilometers of lava, but it was over a period of eight months.
Not all volcanic disasters are massive eruptions with ash columns, landslides, or pyroclastic flows. Some unfold over time. Hopefully, Kilauea is just burping a bit.
Fun fact: There are now submerged Hawaiian islands "trailing" behind the above water chain. The reason there are volcanoes on Hawaii is because the tectonic plate is constantly moving over a hot plume in the mantle. Once the current Hawaiian Islands move away from the plume, the current islands will erode/sink and new islands will eventually take their place.
Neat graphic of it here where you can see the long trail of the islands that used to be Hawaii millions of years ago:
