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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Hawaii's Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/why-hawaiis-newest-eruption-makes-volcanologists-nervous/559685/Why Hawaii's Newest Eruption Makes Volcanologists Nervous
Theres not a lot of words to capture a gradual, slow-developing disaster like this.
A plume of ash rises from Kilauea Volcano on May 3, 2018. USGS / Reuters
Robinson Meyer 3:57 PM ET Science
An ordinary American neighborhood has been evacuated ... because of a volcano.
On Thursday evening, Hawaii County ordered roughly 1,500 people near Pahoa, Hawaii, to leave their homes. The cause: A new lava fissure opened on Kilauea, a massive volcano in the southeast of the states Big Island. Lava from the fissure has come within several hundred yards of homes, threatening two subdivisions in the area. The fissure is also releasing toxic amounts of sulfur dioxide, according to Hawaii News Now.
A ponderous lava flow, moving through trees: Its not exactly the sudden explosion that many Americans imagine when they hear the words volcanic eruption. But for exactly that reason, its the kind of eruption that makes volcanologists nervous, says Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University.
Right now, the U.S. Geological Survey is still trying to understand the new fissure. If the lava flow stabilizes, residents could return to unharmed homes in a week or two. But if the new fissure follows a pattern set by other fissures on Kilauea, then the evacuation could last for a prolonged period of time, says Klemetti.
And because it tends to fall out of public view, it can have a long-term impact on the communities, he says. Its happened several times before.
Kilauea is unlike a lot of volcanoes because its a shield volcanomeaning it has long, sloping sidesand because its huge, Klemetti says. The scale of it is hard to comprehend until youre on the volcano and you realize you can drive 20 miles and still be on the volcano.
snip//
For now, its too early to know what the new lava fissure will mean for Leilani Estates. It might be at least months of lava flows. Or it might just end now, Klemetti says. Theres a likelihood that this is the establishment of a new lava-flow field and that it might be in action for a while.
Theres not a lot of words to capture a gradual, slow-developing disaster like this, he tells me. Even disaster doesnt seem like the right word, because it implies something instantaneous or rapidly developingand this isnt. But it will still be quite a disaster for people whose homes are taken out.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/why-hawaiis-newest-eruption-makes-volcanologists-nervous/559685/
Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)So far the quakes have been shallow and havent caused any Tsunamis. Im on Maui, and didnt feel them, but EMS activation took place, then cancelled.
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)updates when they happen.
6.9 is nothing to sneeze at; stay safe, Hawaii.
BigmanPigman
(51,640 posts)No tsunamis is GOOD news for the whole Pacific Rim.
B2G
(9,766 posts)Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)The Eruption area is relatively small when compared to the Pacific Rim. There are Thousands of Miles of shoreline and millions of people that could be affected by a Tsunami.
B2G
(9,766 posts)I doubt they are the types that will generate a tsunami of any significance. They are close to shore and shallow.
Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)Its ALWAYS a cause for concern and on our minds. We have monthly test alerts, an evacuation plan and two weeks of supplies to take with us, if the sirens wail.
B2G
(9,766 posts)I understand that tsunamis are a constant concern.
Stay safe.
Civic Justice
(870 posts)thus so... we can likely expect some "earthquakes" in other regions of the world to be high on the seismic scales. when, "unknown", but likely not long after this...
We must consider as well, Yellowstone's Largest Geyser Erupts 3 Times in the past two months....
both... over such distance apart has scientist baffled... surely, they understand the dynamics of the earth's plates, are all part of the "earth's make up". Maybe we should think on terms of a single unit, then we may be able to factor the global scale and the correlations.
Civic Justice
(870 posts)procon
(15,805 posts)It would be terrible to lose your home and everything in it, but even worse if those people have to walk away with nothing. They'd still owe on a mortgage, so they would probably never recover.
Coventina
(27,215 posts)The benefit is that the land is usually cheaper.
But, that's small consolation when everything you own is swallowed by Madame Pele.
mchill
(1,020 posts)Like Mt Saint Helens. Can't get "volcanic" insurance per say. If one's house catches on fire first, then fire insurance covers. If an earthquake ruins it before ash and floods hit, then ok, I guess. I think people living on volcanos need to form a lobbying group. One can get insurance for earthquakes, but that was once not true. It's tough.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Not smart.
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)Who knew, or knows?
B2G
(9,766 posts)That their home was sitting on an active volcano?
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)NE US, unheard of before. Lots of weird weather and activities. I bet it gets worse. Pretty much everywhere. I hope I'm wrong.
B2G
(9,766 posts)No. Please do some research.
And what does that have to do with an active volcano erupting?
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)Having been raised in NY, I have weathered hurricanes.
The weather is changing everywhere.
You're the one who started discussing the weather on a thread about earthquakes and volcanos.
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)combined earthquakes and volcanoes under weather in my mind. Forces of nature that can't be controlled.
mchill
(1,020 posts)There was no place to move, off the volcano, or outside of former debris flows, that was a reasonable commute. What does one do in that case?
B2G
(9,766 posts)And not blame the universe when things don't turn out so great.
mchill
(1,020 posts)People choose to live where there are earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, flood plains, volcanos, fire, landslides. Its not about not being smart. Sometimes its where the jobs are, where one can afford, etc..
B2G
(9,766 posts)Every location on earth comes with risks.
n2doc
(47,953 posts)I don't blame those who rented there. But building there is just like building on a superfund site, or next to a coal mine, or on a barrier island. The risks are there and very apparent.
If you take a job in the Hilo area for the federal government (I live elsewhere on the mainland), the only place one could afford to live on a federal salary is Leilani Estates.
babylonsister
(171,102 posts)malaise
(269,219 posts)stuff.
Cha
(297,799 posts)who have to abandon their homes and stay in shelters, because of earthquakes and the Kilauea Volcano erupting!
Quite the Plume.. I wish the best Aloha
wonkwest
(463 posts)Probably the most famous one in relatively recent history was the late 18th century eruption of Laki in Iceland. It disgorged nearly 15 cubic kilometers of lava, but it was over a period of eight months.
Not all volcanic disasters are massive eruptions with ash columns, landslides, or pyroclastic flows. Some unfold over time. Hopefully, Kilauea is just burping a bit.
Fun fact: There are now submerged Hawaiian islands "trailing" behind the above water chain. The reason there are volcanoes on Hawaii is because the tectonic plate is constantly moving over a hot plume in the mantle. Once the current Hawaiian Islands move away from the plume, the current islands will erode/sink and new islands will eventually take their place.
Neat graphic of it here where you can see the long trail of the islands that used to be Hawaii millions of years ago:
milestogo
(16,829 posts)And it is. But they should have come up with something cooler that nobody would know what it was.
Vulcanologists?
Lavalogists?
Magmologists?
raven mad
(4,940 posts)in a populated area. Up here, we're also part of the "Ring of Fire", but with a small, scattered population and no "big" cities, we're lucky.
Best of good karma to the Big Island.
kentuck
(111,110 posts)Nobody knows when or where the ground might just open up. It is so unpredictable.
ThoughtCriminal
(14,050 posts)Remember Bobby Jindal? But here we had a Governor of Louisiana that apparently didn't know why stream gages were also important.
VOX
(22,976 posts)We like the Kona Coast of the Big Island (west coast, on the other side of the island from the volcano), It's still got some old-school funkiness and isn't yet overrun with skyscrapers and freeways like Oahu. The Big Island has some of the best snorkeling spots in the entire chain. The bay by the Captain Cook Monument is especially favorable.
Unfortunately, when Kilauea fires up, it blankets the island with a steamy overcast, or "vog," as it's known locally. We had to cancel, which is a far cry from the troubles that the locals are having.