ISLAND
OF HAWAII
Leilani
Estates
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island unleashed havoc when the earth split open, lava spewed hundreds of feet into the air and molten rock swallowed streets in a residential neighborhood.
In the days since the eruptions began, 1,700 people have been evacuated, and many homes have been consumed by fire.
The fissures have cut a swath across
the Leilani Estates subdivision.
Areas covered
by lava
LEILANI
ESTATES
Where fissures have opened up
HALF A MILE
Source: Imagery via DigitalGlobe; lava and fissure locations from the County of Hawaii | Note: Lava area and fissures through May 10.
Since eruptions in the Leilani Estates neighborhood began on May 3, the flows of lava have destroyed 36 structures as of Friday — at least 26 of them homes — and covered 117 acres. The fissures across the neighborhood have also been emitting dangerous sulfur dioxide gases, local authorities said.
About 25 miles away from the neighborhood, the island is on alert for the possibility of a explosive eruption in coming days or weeks at Kilauea volcano’s summit, which could launch 10- to 12-ton boulders within a half-mile radius.
As of Friday, 15 separate fissures have opened up in the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens area. No deaths or injuries have been recorded so far.
Fountains of lava spurting more than 100 feet into the air along a fissure near Pahoa, Hawaii, on May 6.Bruce Omori/EPA, via Shutterstock
“I don’t think anyone thought it would be a reality,” said Heath Dalton, a resident of Leilani Estates. “They know it was coming, I just don’t think anybody ever thought it would be in their lifetime.”
On May 4, Mr. Dalton was packing up some belongings to evacuate the neighborhood when he could see a fissure just a block away from his house. He said the rupture sounded like a jet engine as it exploded with bright red lava. When he returned the next day to save more of his family’s possessions, he found his home in flames.
Though the neighborhood had been evacuated, residents have been frantically trying to gather their belongings, when permitted by authorities.
The island of Hawaii is
made up of five volcanoes.
Four of them are active.
Kohala
Inactive
Mauna Kea
Last eruption at least
4,500 years ago
Hilo
Hualalai
1801
ISLAND
OF HAWAII
Kilauea summit
and lava lake
Pu’u O’o
Mauna Loa
1984
Leilani
Estates
Kilauea
Erupting since 1983
20 miles
For 35 years, Kilauea has been erupting almost continuously, according to the United States Geological Survey. The volcano takes up the entire southeast portion of the island of Hawaii. Because of that, residents of Leilani Estates — though living in Hazard Zone 1, an area most at risk from lava flows — have often been miles away from danger.
“You’re in Lava Zone 1, so it’s always in your head that it could happen. But for the last 30 years, it’s been flowing down to Kalapana. Then in 2014, it almost cut Pahoa in half,” Mr. Dalton said.
Kalapana is a small town resting on top of a lava field about 10 miles southwest of Leilani Estates. Pahoa, much closer, is only about two miles to the north.
On May 6, a lava flow moved across Makamae Street in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa on the island of Hawaii.United States Geological Survey, via Associated Press
“I never thought I’d ever be faced with this, I’m just shell-shocked,” said Carl Yoshimoto, 69, who has lived in the neighborhood for eight years and left his home in a “mad scramble,” grabbing his wallet, medications and important paperwork. “The local people just kind of take it as something you live with.”
There have been three lava flows in
the Leilani Estates area since 1790.
The most recent eruption near the Leilani Estates area was in 1955, before subdivisions were built in the area. The volcano had long been dormant, until its eruption forced villagers in the area to flee.
Lava flow from
1790 eruption
1840
1955
2018
Leilani Estates
Source: Historic lava flows from the United States Geological Survey | Note: Lava areas for 2018 are through May 10
The construction of Leilani Estates was approved in 1960, according to Daryn Arai, deputy planning director at the Hawaii County Planning Department, and about 1,600 people live in the neighborhood today. It’s a rural neighborhood that has offered relatively affordable homes, in contrast with Hawaii’s more expensive real estate on Oahu and Maui.
Despite the neighborhood’s position in an area where lava flows are most likely to occur on the island, there are no building restrictions, Mr. Arai said.
Kilauea is a long, shallow volcano,
stretching across the southeast
portion of the Big Island.
Kilauea is known as a “shield” volcano because its gentle slopes resemble those of a shield lying on the ground. The initial eruptions in Leilani Estates are about 15 miles from the Pu’u O’o crater, a primary vent of Kilauea, and about 25 miles from the peak of the volcano.
As the surface of the lava lake at the summit has receded, it has forced molten rock underground to travel through conduits and erupt miles away. Hundreds of earthquakes have registered on the island in recent days, including one with a magnitude of 6.9 on May 4.
HAWAII
Lanipuna Gardens
Leilani Estates
The surface of the lava lake receded at Kilauea volcano’s summit
Lava began erupting through fissures on May 3
Ash plume began rising from Pu’u O’o craterafter it collapsed last week
Pacific Ocean
Area of
detail
Hawaiian
Islands
5 miles
Pacific
Ocean
Kilauea
volcano summit
Hilo
Area shown
above
Scientists said that as the surface of the lava pool at the volcano’s summit recedes, it could cause rocks from the crater to fall into the opening where the lava levels have dropped. The hot rocks would then interact with groundwater, causing steam pressure to build up and eventually releasing a larger explosion at the summit. The diagram below outlines this process.
How a steam-driven explosion at
Kilauea’s summit could happen
Kilauea’s summit could happen
WATER
TABLE
Blockage
Lava
lake
Rocks fall into the vent, blocking the
opening where the lava has receded.
GROUND
WATER
Water interacts with the lava, creating lots of
steam. Pressure builds up until it explodes.
The New York Times
In a call with journalists on May 9, Don Swanson, a geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, explained that an eruption at the summit carried a range of risks. He said that 10- to 12-ton boulders could be flung within about half a mile of the summit, marble-size rocks could reach within about 10 miles and snow-like ash could spread about 20 miles downwind.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closed indefinitely on Thursday. The potential steam-driven explosion is not expected to be life-threatening, but a “nuisance event,” Mr. Swanson said.
The string of eruptions at Leilani Estates seemed to have paused on Friday, but authorities said that new fissures and eruptions are likely to continue east of the neighborhood where earthquakes have registered in the past two days.
After the eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on May 5, lava bubbled from a new fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision.
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