Hawaii volcano could blow within a week, launching boulders the size of fridges miles into the air, experts warn

Hawaii’s authorities have also scrambled to move tens of thousands of gallons of highly flammable chemicals – enough to create an explosion more than a mile wide – from the lava’s path

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An aerial view shows smoke and burned areas as eruptions continued overnight within the Leilani Estates subdivision in Pahoa, Hawaii, on Wednesday. Experts say there is a risk that the volcano could suffer an explosive eruption, launching rocks the size of refrigerators miles into the air. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:19am, 11 May 2018Updated: 5:31am, 11 May 2018

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could blow its top within a week – and if it does, it could hurl boulders the size of refrigerators miles into the air, shutting down airline traffic and endangering lives in all directions, scientists said Thursday.

“If it goes up, it will come down,” said Charles Mandeville, volcano hazards coordinator for the US Geological Survey. “You don’t want to be underneath anything that weighs 10 tons when it’s coming out at 120 miles per hour.”

The remarks came as Hawaii authorities scrambled to move tens of thousands of gallons of highly flammable chemicals – enough to create an explosion more than a mile wide – from the lava’s path and the state’s governor warned that mass evacuations might be needed as the volcano’s eruption became more violent.

Volcanic debris is seen on a road in Leilani Estate, Hawaii, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Geologists have warned that Kilauea may be entering a phase of explosive eruptions, the likes of which Hawaii has not seen in nearly a century, that could hurl “ballistic blocks” and dust towns with volcanic ash and smog.

“We know the volcano is capable of doing this,” Mandeville said, citing similar explosions at Kilauea in 1924, 1790 and four other times in the last few thousand years. “We know it is a distinct possibility.”