Lava flows toward residential community on Hawaii's Big Island
- 9 years ago
The lava from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano continued to inch forward on Saturday toward a community of residents on Big Island.
The lava moved through a wooded area, oozing through downed trees, at a rate of several hundred meters per day, according to officials.
It is now about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from Pahoa, a town with about 800 residents that stands on the site of a former sugar cane plantation on the eastern edge of Hawaii.
Most of the town's business district lies to the south of the area in greatest danger.
Residents of about 50 homes in the lava's projected path have been making preparations to flee for weeks, many emptying their houses of belongings in case an evacuation became necessary.
Kilauea's current eruption began in 1983, and the flow of lava that has menaced Pahoa began bubbling out of the volcano's Pu'u O'o vent on June 27.
The leading edge of the lava can reach temperatures of about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,149 degrees Ce
The lava moved through a wooded area, oozing through downed trees, at a rate of several hundred meters per day, according to officials.
It is now about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from Pahoa, a town with about 800 residents that stands on the site of a former sugar cane plantation on the eastern edge of Hawaii.
Most of the town's business district lies to the south of the area in greatest danger.
Residents of about 50 homes in the lava's projected path have been making preparations to flee for weeks, many emptying their houses of belongings in case an evacuation became necessary.
Kilauea's current eruption began in 1983, and the flow of lava that has menaced Pahoa began bubbling out of the volcano's Pu'u O'o vent on June 27.
The leading edge of the lava can reach temperatures of about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit (1,149 degrees Ce