“We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This” – Hawaii Officials Warn Residents Of Dangerous Volcanic Smog
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 05/07/2018
More than four days after the first fissures opened up in the ground surrounding Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea, the volcano’s destructive eruptions continued on Monday, destroying more buildings in the island’s tony Leilani Estates neighborhood, CNN reported.
Lava and hazardous gases are bubbling up through the cracks in the volcano’s East Rift Zone, a situation that has been exacerbated by a series of powerful Earthquakes that rocked the area late last week.
High levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide has been released into the air, forcing the government to issue a warning to residents living downwind from the volcano. Already, nearly 2,000 residents of the surrounding area have fled or been evacuated. They include residents of Leilani estates and the nearby Lanipuna Gardens.
But while the lava has caught the attention of photographers who’ve snapped thousands of pictures of the glowing red substance devouring homes, the Washington Post reports that an unseen danger has been threatening visitors and residents alike.
They’re calling it “vog” – short for volcanic smog. Though the smog isn’t a killer, it has made tens of thousands of Hawaiians during previous eruptions, and could make thousands more ill this time around.
Unfavorable winds could spread far from the volcano on the Big Island to affect people as far away as Oahu, 200 miles to the northwest. Similar patterns emerged in 2008 and 2016.
Vog, which mainly consists of water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, can appear as “hazy air pollution.” It can also contain several other compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride and carbon monoxide, all of which are harmful to people, according to the Geological Service. However, of the three primary gases, sulfur dioxide, which has an acrid smell reminiscent of fireworks or a burning match, is the “chief gas hazard in Hawaii,” the service reported.
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