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Associated Press

Geologists warned Wednesday that Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could erupt explosively and send boulders, rocks and ash into the air around its summit in the coming weeks.
The US Geological Survey said the risk will rise if the lava drops below the groundwater level beneath the summit’s caldera.
An influx of water inside could cause steam-driven explosions. There’s also potential for ash, steam and sulphur dioxide emissions.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
It has destroyed 36 structures since it began releasing lava into fissures that opened in a Big Island residential neighbourhood last week.
More Hawaii residents forced to evacuate as lava and toxic gas hit neighbourhood
Since the eruptions began, 14 such fissures have opened in a subdivision and destroyed dozens of structures, including 26 homes.
In the weeks ahead, the volcano could hurl lumps of blazing rock up to 2 metres in diameter a distance of more than a kilometre, the USGS said. It may also send pebbles shooting into the air several kilometres away, the USGS said.
In the Leilani Estates subdivision, police went door-to-door Tuesday to roust residents near two new volcanic vents emitting dangerous gases in areas where lava has poured into streets and backyards.
Authorities previously ordered nearly 2,000 residents to leave the two communities in the mostly rural district of Puna on Hawaii’s Big Island last Thursday. But some ignored the order and stayed to watch over their property.
The emergence of the two new vents prompted Hawaii County to issue a cellphone alert ordering stragglers in the Lanipuna Gardens neighbourhood to get out immediately. Police followed up with personal visits.
Officers found a number of people still at their residences but there were no sign of holdouts later, said Talmadge Magno, administrator for Hawaii County Civil Defence.
Edwin Montoya, 76, had planned to stay to care for animals and keep looters away from his family’s property in Leilani Estates. He was forced to evacuate after the new fissures emerged, including one just 1.6km away.
“I’m in my truck right now on my way up the road,” he said. “The police came down here and made me.”
Both communities are in a forested, remote part of the Big Island on the eastern flank of Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1983.
In recent years the volcano has mostly released lava in hard-to-reach areas inside a national park or along the coastline. But last week, vents popped open and released lava, gas and steam inside neighbourhoods.
There’s no indication when the eruption might stop, or how far the lava might spread.
Andrew Nisbet has no idea what happened to his house since he left it.
“My home is right in the line of the major breakouts so maybe, maybe not.” he said Monday during a community meeting.
Authorities urged Scott Wiggers to evacuate, but he refused.
“I’m in the safest part in the subdivision. There’s no threat to my house whatsoever,” said Wiggers, a tour guide.
Wiggers said he wasn’t leaving his home on the outskirts of the evacuation zone because he worried that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to get back in. But he’s prepared in case the situation takes a turn.
“I am packed. My truck is loaded. I’m not a dumb-dumb. If I see a threat, I’m out of here,” he said.
Officials warn that lava could flow downhill and burn areas that don’t currently face danger and that toxic volcanic gas could kill people, especially the elderly and those with breathing problems.


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Volcanoes

Geologists predict explosive eruption at Hawaii volcano, hurling blazing boulders more than a kilometre

New volcanic vents are opening, sending lava and dangerous gases into residential areas

Steam and sulfur rises from cracks in Moku Street at the head of a driveway in Leilani Estates, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Police have gone door-to-door to evacuate residents near two new vents emitting dangerous volcanic gases in Hawaii. The vents emerged near the spots where lava has been pouring into streets and backyards for the past week. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)

A view shows a lava fissure in Leilani Estates, Hawaii, U.S. May 9, 2018, in this still image taken from a social media video. Apau Hawaii Tours/Social Media via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MUST ON SCREEN COURTESY APAU HAWAII TOURS

An ash plume rises from the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera on Wednesday. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Hawaii volcano’s lava flow may force resident to abandon their homes

Lava approaches the village of Pahoa on the Big Island. Photo: AP

Watch: Hawaii volcano’s new fissure creates 70-metre lava fountain as temporary return mooted for evacuees

A new fissure has opened up on Hawaii’s Big Island, causing lava fountains as high as about 230 feet (pictured) Photo: US Geological Survey

epaselect epa06713989 A 2,000 foot long fissure erupts within the Leilani Estates subdivision, on the east rift zone of the Kilauea volcano threatening homes of hundreds, in Hawaii, USA, 05 May 2018. A volcanic eruption occurs within the Leilani Estates subdivision, a neighborhood just outside of Pahoa, the town that was threatened by lava four years ago. EPA-EFE/BRUCE OMORI / PARADISE HELICOPTERS

A man watches as lava is seen sewing from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island on May 4, 2018 as up to 10,000 people were asked to leave their homes following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano that came after a series of recent earthquakes. / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN

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New volcanic vents are opening, sending lava and dangerous gases into residential areas


Geologists predict explosive eruption at Hawaii volcano, hurling blazing boulders more than a kilometre

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}New volcanic vents are opening, sending lava and dangerous gases into residential areas

New volcanic vents are opening, sending lava and dangerous gases into residential areas