Two weeks after the fountains of lava and poisonous gas from the volcano Kilauea in Hawaii forced hundreds of people to flee their homes in the middle of the night, things got worse for residents on Friday after another eruption .
While Kilauea spat lava from fissures on his eastern flank, Pahoa residents on the Big Island, some wearing ash masks, crouched in shelters and waited for the expected resumption of large eruptions. The first evacuations arrived before dawn on May 3, when the volcano began its current cycle of eruptions and earthquakes.
"We are all trying to establish or find something normal in our lives knowing that we are in an active volcano that is very active at this time," said Cindy Hartman, dietitian at Hilo Medical Center. He packed his bags and left his home in the Kalapana-Seaview neighborhood on Sunday, after a fissure opened only 3.2 kilometers from the last exit.
Hartman has been staying with a friend but is looking for temporary accommodation, given the possibility that the lava will flow for months. Veterans have reminded him that a similar event in 1955 lasted 88 days.
Four people were rescued by helicopter after a rapid flow of lava crossed Pohoiki Road, one of the main arteries in and out of the area, isolating some 40 houses. "People who are still in that area are being asked to stay in a safe place and wait for further instructions," the county said in an alert.
The Kilauea spit ash almost 9 km into the sky on Thursday, which scientists warned could be the first in a series of even more violent explosive eruptions
Kilauea spat ash nearly six miles (9 km) into the sky on Thursday in what scientists warned could be the first in a series of even more violent explosive eruptions. Residents were warned to take refuge from the ashes as toxic gas levels increased in a small southeastern area where the lava has been released from the ground during the two-week eruption.
"To be honest, I'm quite shocked," said Glenn Canon, 61, who evacuated the first day of the eruption while picking up a UPS package in the parking lot of a church. "I'm just going around in circles."
The vent mouth of the summit crater has almost tripled in size in recent days, from about 12 acres (4.9 hectares) in area to 34 acres (13.8 hectares), according to USGS geophysicist Mike Poland.
The vent mouth of the summit crater has almost tripled in size to 13.8 hectares
While this extension coincided with consecutive explosive explosions driven by crater steam this week, said Poland, the expansion was mainly caused by the collapse of the inner walls of the crater's vent, while magma continues to fall down the volcano's throat.
Geologists say it is unlikely that Kilauea will have a massive eruption like the one in 1790, which killed dozens of people in the deadliest event in what is now the United States. It is likely that the lava lake that falls from Kilauea has descended to a level equal to or lower than the water table, allowing water to run to the top of its lava column and create steam-driven explosions, they said.
Geologists say Kilauea is unlikely to have a massive eruption like the one in 1790, which killed dozens of people in the deadliest event in what is now the US.
An increase in levels of toxic sulfur dioxide gas has closed schools around the city of Pahoa, 40 kilometers east of the volcano, where lava from giant cracks has destroyed 40 houses and other structures and forced some 2,000 residents to flee.
A change in the direction of the wind caused the volcanic gas to move towards the northwest, towards Pahoa, which caused the National Guard troops to wear gas masks at a nearby road intersection.
An increase in levels of toxic sulfur dioxide gas has closed schools around the city of Pahoa, 40 kilometers east of the volcano.
The Pahoa fire station registered a "red level" of sulfur dioxide, which means that the gas could cause suffocation and inability to breathe, said Fenix Grange of the Hawaii Department of Health at a press conference in Hilo. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported during the current eruption.
A red aviation alert was in effect due to the risks of ash being transported to aircraft routes and damaging jet engines. (Additional reporting by Jolyn Rosa in Honolulu and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Editing by Bill Tarrant, Sandra Maler, Kim Coghill, William Maclean)