Hawaii Lava-Flows Accelerate, Over 80 Structures Destroyed, Tourist Bookings Tumble 50%
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Tue, 05/29/2018
Officials in Hawaii County have been going door-to-door on several streets in the Leilani Estates subdivision on The Big Island, warning residents to flee as fast-moving lava from the Kilauea volcano coursed towards the area. Despite being under an evacuation order, several residents have been holding out and refusing to leave their homes.
Lava has destroyed at least 82 structures, including 37 homes – while just hours after authorities went door-to-door, an explosive eruption shot a plume of ash over 14,000 feet into the air according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The plume was “largely vertical with slight northwest drift,” the agency said on Twitter, and people in the area “may experience ash fall” as a result.
“Kind of disturbingly, some people just refused to leave,” said Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno. “We had one gentleman that had to be kind of rescued. His only way out was through his back door and through the forest.”
Several fissures continue to spew hot, fast moving lava which has blocked roads.
Meanwhile, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Hilina region of Kilauea volcano situated southwest of the Leilani Estates, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Oahu. The earthquake was preceded by between 250 and 270 earthquakes at Kilauea’s summit over the weekend, with four explosions on Saturday sending ash to altitudes as high as 12,000-15,000 feet, said Stovall and National Weather Service meteorologist John Bravender.
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