Hawaii Kilauea volcano eruption: Two dozen homes destroyed, more threatened

Mangalore Today News Network

Hawaii, May 10, 2018 : HAWAII’S Kilauea volcano is wreaking havoc on the Big Island, spewing lava and hazardous fumes in ways locals have never seen before.

Evacuation orders remain in place for hundreds of residents of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens areas in the eastern part of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Hawaii’s Civil Defense Agency, in its latest update, said 26 homes have been destroyed by lava oozing up from fissures in the ground.

Aerial footage showed orange streams of lava snaking through the Leilani Estates neighbourhood, covering streets and igniting small fires.

Harrowing footage of the moment lava spewed on to local streets on Hawaii’s Big Island also emerged.
The lava moving across a Hawaiian street to a parked car. Picture: Facebook, WX Chasing

The footage, which was captured on a dash cam by WXChasing and posted on Facebook, shows how a wall of lava spewed onto a street before destroying a parked Ford Mustang.

Hawaii officials say the decimated homes are in the Leilani Estates residential subdivision, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground created by the volcano.

Officials updated the number of lost homes after an aerial survey of the subdivision.

“That number could change,” Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder said.


Flames could be seen from the red coals as smoke and steam billowed. Residents have been warned to ‘go now’ before more homes are destroyed.

“Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice,” the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said in an alert on its website.