Kilauea Volcano, located on the island of Hawaii, erupted and forced residents in 2 subdivisions to evacuate immediately on Thursday
After two days of numerous small earthquakes around the volcano, lava eventually spewed from a crack. Drone footage shows how cracks started opening up across the green yards and roadways, melting everything in their way.
In the last few days, the area has suffered hundreds of small earthquake; the largest one measured a magnitude of 5.0 and hit around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Moreover, it had a depth of four miles and took place on the southeastern coast of Hawaii island.
At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, both Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions were ordered mandatory evacuation. Two community centers have been opened in order to shelter people whose houses got fled. Fortunately, there were no deaths or serious injuries reported, even though, as expected, the panic was way high up in the atmosphere.
Ikaika Marzo, resident of the island, told that lava fountains were shooting 150 feet into the air and that it spread over a 200-yard-wide area, right behind a house in Leilani Estates, making the scene look just like in a horror movie.
“It sounds like a jet engine. It’s going hard,” he said
“People are scared,” said Matthew Purvis, a pastor who runs a bakery in the town of Pahoa.
“It’s not just evacuating people, it’s their things and their animals and their livelihoods,” he added.
Mr. Purvis is the one resident who decided to drive his van into the threatened areas in order to help residents.
“I don’t think people thought this would actually happen,” he said. “It was just a moment’s notice. It’s pretty wild.”
Important information was released from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, noting that white vapor along with blue flames started emanating from the cracked areas on Thursday afternoon, immediately followed by spatter-blobs of lava blown high up in the air, just before 5 p.m.
“The opening phases of fissure eruptions are dynamic,” the observatory warned. “Additional vents and new lava outbreaks may occur and at this time it is not possible to say where new vents may occur.”
Source: nytimes.com
