Why Hawaii's Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous
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.
Full Article:https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/why-hawaiis-newest-eruption-makes-volcanologists-nervous/559685/
Some lava flow drone footage:
Link to tweet
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