NBC has a
article about a Hawai'ian volcano:
An active lava flow on Hawai'i’s Big Island gained speed as it spread toward a residential neighborhood, prompting authorities to warn that evacuations could begin within hours. Civil Defense personnel and emergency response teams were starting a door-to-door sweep of homes near the village of Pahoa, officials said, to inform residents of the progress of the molten rock. Others were warned to stay indoors to avoid smoke.
The lava, at a temperature of around two thousand degrees Fahrenheit oozed across a road and pushed through a mostly Buddhist cemetery on the edge the town in the region of Puna. The lava is moving at a rate of approximately fifteen to twenty yards an hour, Hawai'i County officials said in a update that said the flow was six hundred yards from the main road in the town. “Residents in the immediate downslope area of the flow path have been advised to prepare for possible evacuation tonight,” the update said. “Due to the unpredictability and inconsistency in the flow rate of advancement, precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of all residents.” The Red Cross opened a shelter for displaced residents, Hawai'i News Now reported.
Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. The current flow began in June of 2014 and has been moving toward Pahoa in fits and starts. Janet Babb, a geologist and spokeswoman for the Hawai'ian Volcano Observatory, said an “unnerving” number of methane explosions had been observed. Decomposing vegetation produces methane gas that can travel subsurface beyond the lava front in different directions, accumulating in pockets that can ignite, she told reporters in a conference call.
Rico says dangerous things, volcanoes...
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