Hawaii Volcano Destroys Dozens Of Homes, Forces Evacuations
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PAHOA, Hawaii (CBS/AP) - Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has destroyed 26 homes and spewed lava hundreds of feet into the air, leaving evacuated residents unsure how long they might be displaced.
In revised figures Sunday, Hawaii County officials say another four unspecified structures were covered by lava.
They said the decimated homes were in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground created by the volcano.
Lava flows on Hawaii's Big Island are destroying everything in their path including houses, cars, roads and fences. A cameraman captured video of a the destruction this past weekend.
In the video, a lava flow can be seen slowly creeping across the roadway towards a white Ford Mustang. The flow eventually reaches and ignites the vehicle.
In another portion of the video, lava easily pushes through a gate as vegetation burns on either side of what appears to be a road or driveway.
While there seems to be enough time to move the car out of the path of the lava — as of Monday morning — there were no details about the car's owner or why the vehicle wasn't moved.
Some of the more than 1,700 residents who have been evacuated were allowed to briefly return to gather medicine, pets, and other necessities.
Officials say they would be able to do so each day until further notice as authorities monitor which areas are safe.
A new fissure spewed lava up to 230 feet into the air and new cracks opened on a highway in the Leilani Estates area, about a dozen miles from where the Kilauea volcano erupted on Thursday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement on Saturday.
The southeast corner of the island was rocked by a 6.9 tremor on Friday, the strongest since 1975, and more earthquakes and eruptions were forecast, perhaps for months to come.
The CDC also said about 1,500 homes were evacuated in a small rural area since fissures began spewing out steam, lava and life threatening sulfur dioxide.
No injuries or deaths were immediately reported.
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