Hawaii volcano eruption: Scientists warn island will take A CENTURY to recover

Thursday, June 21, 2018
By Paul Martin

HAWAII will take at least 100 years to fully recover from the devastation wreaked by the eruption of Kilauea, scientists have warned.

By SIMON OSBORNE
Express.co.uk
Thu, Jun 21, 2018

Vast tracts of land have been swamped by a might river of red-hit lava that continues to stream from the volcano and down to the ocean where marine wildlife has also been wiped out.

More than 600 properties have been engulfed by the volcano’s fountains of fiery molten rock and forests, farmland and orchards have also been destroyed since the Big Island eruption began last month.

Patrick Hart, a biology professor at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, said: “Before the eruptions, that area was probably the best forest left in the state of Hawaii.

“There were areas where the native Ohia forest extended right up to the ocean and you just don’t see that in the rest of Hawaii.”

Prof Hart said fruit trees, flowers and ferns all withered and died in the noxious sulphur-dioxide-filled air before the lava flows covered around nine square miles of land under a 30ft deep volcanic blanket.

He said it could be at least a century before the decimated tracts of lava-covered forest begin to grow again, first with lichen and then native ferns and Ohia trees that have adapted to grow on lava. In 150 years the land could begin to resemble a forest like the one that used to be there.

Ryan Perroy, a volcanologist and associate professor at the university, said: “It’s a very powerful thing to witness but in geological terms, it’s also not an unexpected event. This is how Puna was built, with volcanic eruptions.”

The lava is flowing along a well-established channel and entering the sea at Kapaho.

Marine scientist Steven Colbert said: “Kapoho Bay was a very important recreational place for people in this area.

“There aren’t a lot of places here where you can access the shoreline and get in the water easily. And this was one of those areas. It was also a very important research spot for us scientists.”

Prof Colbert said tidal pools at Kapoho Bay were home to thriving coral and abundant fish – especially small ones that found safe haven from predators in the protected environment.

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