Hawaii volcano eruption: USAF could be called in to BOMB Mount Kilauea to divert lava
US Air Force heavy BOMBERS could be called into bomb Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea to divert killer lava flows heading towards heavily populated communities – a throwback to a technique first successfully used in the 1940s.
By PAUL WITHERS
Express.co.uk
Wed, Jun 6, 2018
Volcano bombing was first attempted in December 1935 when the US AIr Force dropped two 600lb bombs on a lava channel on Huawei’s Mount Loa to divert the flow heading towards Hilo.
The town on the Big Island is ironically to the north of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, home to the now erupting Kilauea and active Mount Loa volcanoes.
But the bombing didn’t work, so they tried the process again on the same volcano in 1942, but again without success – or so they thought.
Just a few days after this bombing, the volcano collapsed and brought the lava flow to a halt.
In theory, bombing a channel can slow the lava flow down and reduce the damage inflicted on cities because the deadly liquid moves fastest when contained in a channel or a lava tube, while lava that flows in a wider space is much slower and cools faster.
This inspired further experiments in 1975 and 1976 when the US Air Force dropped bombs on ancient lava fields on Mount Loa, concluding that spatter cones – low, steep-sided hills that consist of welded lava fragments formed around a lava fountain – were particularly vulnerable to bombing.
In its report, the US Air Force said: “Modern aerial bombing has a substantial probability of success for diversion of lava from most expected types of eruptions on Mauna Loa’s Northeast Rift Zone, if Hilo is threatened and if Air Force assistance is requested.”
Despite some success with the bombing of volcanoes to restrict lava flow, this technique has never been attempted again.
But it may be revived 42 years later if lava continues to flow dangerously from Mount Kilauea, which began erupting more than a month ago.
So far, more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed. No deaths have yet been reported but the eruptions have covered more than 5,000 acres and lava flow has now been described as a “flood”.
The United States Geographical Survey (USGS) has continued to place Kilauea volcano under red alert, meaning it is still currently spewing lava.
Its website says: “Vigorous eruption of lava continues from the lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) fissure system in the area of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens.”
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