Na lava ook zwaarste aardbeving in 40 jaar op Hawaï

Het grootste eiland van Hawaï is getroffen door de zwaarste aardbeving in 40 jaar tijd. De aardbeving, met een kracht van 6,9, was een van de honderden aardbevingen van de afgelopen week.

Bewoners van Big Island zeggen dat zij hevige schokken voelden. Meer dan 14.000 huishoudens zaten enkele uren zonder stroom.
Het epicentrum lag aan de zuidkant van de vulkaan Kilauea, die sinds donderdag al lava spuwt. In een woonwijk zijn enkele gebouwen verwoest. Er zitten grote scheuren in enkele wegen.

Uit de vulkaan komt het giftige gas zwaveldioxide, dat een sterke geur van rotte eieren verspreidt. Inwoners zijn daarvoor gewaarschuwd. Het is vooral schadelijk voor ouderen, kinderen en mensen met ademhalingsproblemen. Meer dan 1700 mensen die op de flanken van de vulkaan wonen, zijn geëvacueerd. Parken en scholen zijn gesloten. Er zijn zeven kraters waar lava uit stroomt. De Kilauea is over het algemeen niet erg actief. De laatste grote uitbarsting was in 1924. Toen kwam een man om het leven. Wel zijn er door lavastromen tientallen vierkante kilometers land onbruikbaar geworden en vele gebouwen verwoest.

Het eiland heeft een waarschuwingssysteem. Iedereen leeft in de wetenschap dat de vulkaan kan uitbarsten en is erop voorbereid, zegt een eilandbewoner.

Bron: nos.nl


 

NEW VIDEO: Check out this drone footage from Hawaii after earthquakes and volcano eruptions have transformed landscape there into a blazing inferno fueled by lava. pic.twitter.com/7w0kn4K7XN

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) 6 mei 2018

Crack in #Hawaiian streets spewing lava ???????? pic.twitter.com/2fbWGdaap7

— ❤️CORY™❤️ (@Cory_1077) 5 mei 2018

 

Kilauea volcano eruption update: Aviation color code red issued

At 23:23 UTC on May 15, USGS volcanologists upgraded Kilauea's warning code from orange to red, because of increased ash emissions from the summit crater. Aircraft traveling near Hawaii are warned to avoid small ash clouds.

As of early May 15 (local time, UTC -10), eruption of ash from the Overlook vent within Halemaumau crater at Kilauea Volcano's summit has generally increased in intensity. Ash has been rising nearly continuously from the vent and drifting downwind to the southwest. Ashfall and vog (volcanic air pollution) has been reported in Pahala, about 29 km (18 miles) downwind. NWS radar and pilot reports indicate the top of the ash cloud is as high as 3 - 3.6 km (10 000 to 12 000 feet) above sea level, but this may be expected to vary depending on the vigor of activity and wind conditions. 

Ash emission from the Kilauea summit vent will likely be variable with periods of increased and decreased intensity depending on the occurrence of rockfalls into the vent and other changes within the vent. At any time, the activity may become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent. 



Eruption of lava continues from at least three fissures in the East Rift Zone, including a new one that widened near #19 early on May 15th. Residents in lower Puna should remain informed and heed Hawaii County Civil Defense closures, warnings, and messages.

Light ashfall has been reported on Highway 11 and in the Ka'u district records and air quality problems are also possible.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued an ashfall warning for the region southwest of Kilauea, including the cities of Wood Valley, Pahala, Punaluu, Naalehu, and Hawaiian Oceanview Estates.
In the East Rift Zone, eruption of lava continues from at least three fissures, including at least one new fissure that opened up near #19 early on May 15. Volcanic gas emissions are elevated, and a Code Red air quality alert is still in place for the southeast part of Lanipuna Gardens.

Efforts are underway to cool down and then plug three active geothermal wells at the Puna Geothermal Ventures Plant, which sits near the fissure zone. Once sealed, hydrogen sulfide and other geothermal material will not be affected if lava flows over it.



Fortunately, the advancing Fissure 17 lava flow, which has traveled almost 2 kilometers (1.5 miles), has slowed down, traveling less than 400 meters (1200 feet) in the last day, according to USGS representatives at a media conference on May 15, which is available online.

During the conference, meteorologists said that trade winds will diminish on May 16, and regions around the volcano and farther inland will experience more ashfall and volcanic fumes. Towards the end of the week, the winds will return to carry these hazardous volcanic materials back out to sea.


Current trade wind flow and SO2 emissions from Kilauea from the online Earth wind map.

Events are unfolding quickly at Kilauea Volcano today, and this article may be updated.

Bron: https://watchers.news 
 

Hawaii faces new threat of fumes from volcano's lava

PAHOA, Hawaii - Hawaii faced a new hazard on Sunday as lava flows from Kilauea’s volcanic eruption could produce clouds of acid fumes, steam and glass-like particles as they reach the Pacific, authorities said.

Civil defense notices cautioned motorists, boaters and beachgoers to beware of caustic plumes of “laze” formed from two streams of hot lava pouring into the sea after cutting across Highway 137 on the south coast of Hawaii’s Big Island late on Saturday and early Sunday. The bulletins also warned that reports of toxic sulfur dioxide gas being vented from various points around the volcano had tripled, urging residents to “take action necessary to limit further exposure.”

Laze - a term combining the words “lava” and haze” - is a mix of hydrochloric acid fumes, steam and fine volcanic glass specks created when erupting lava, which can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius), reacts with sea water, Hawaii County Civil Defense said in a statement. “Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume,” the agency said, warning that potential hazards include lung damage, as well as eye and skin irritation. 

Under Sunday’s conditions, with strong winds and copious amounts of lava hitting the ocean, the laze plumes could extend as far as 15 miles (24 km), mostly along the coast and offshore, though the hazard would diminish the farther out to sea it blows, according to USGS geologist Janet Babb. Authorities cautioned, however, that wind patterns can change abruptly. The U.S. Coast Guard was “actively monitoring” the area to keep away all vessel traffic except permitted tour boats, the civil defense office said. Laze killed two people when a lava flow reached the coast in 2000, and even a wisp can cause eye and respiratory irritation, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Acid rain from laze has corrosive properties equivalent to diluted battery acid, the agency said.

The section of coastal Highway 137 and a nearby a state park in the area where lava was pouring into the ocean were both closed, and another road in the vicinity was restricted to local traffic as a precaution due to elevated levels of sulfur dioxide gas. An air quality index for Kona, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the eruption site, was at “orange” level, meaning that older individuals and those with lung problems could be affected.

 

Lava from the Fissure 20 complex in Kīlauea Volcano’s Lower East Rift Zone enters the ocean. https://t.co/cmBDY2hyiW pic.twitter.com/VRIfcEpl8V

— USGS Volcanoes???? (@USGSVolcanoes) 20 mei 2018

Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, began extruding red-hot lava and sulfuric acid fumes through newly opened fissures on the ground along its eastern flank on May 3, marking the latest phase of an eruption cycle that has continued nearly nonstop for 35 years. The occurrence of new lava-spewing vents, now numbering at least 22, have been accompanied by flurries of earthquakes and periodic eruptions of ash, volcanic rock and toxic gases from the volcano’s summit crater. The lava flows have destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings, ignited brush fires and displaced thousands of residents who were either ordered evacuated or fled voluntarily. 

The volcano has also fed a phenomenon called vog, a hazy mix of sulfur dioxide, aerosols, moisture and dust, with fine particles that can travel deep into lungs, the USGS said.

On Saturday, authorities reported the first known serious injury from the eruptions - a homeowner whose leg was shattered by a hot, solid lumb of lava called a “lava bomb” while standing on the third-floor balcony of his home. Mark Clawson, a friend of the victim who did not want his name used, lives near where his friend was staying as caretaker, and heard screaming and saw the harrowing aftermath, he told Reuters.

Apparently a fiery 5-pound “lava bomb” about the size of a dinner plate was launched from a fissure about 200 yards from the house, Clawson said.Slideshow (11 Images)“Most of them (lava bombs) arc high in the air, but every now and again there’s one that gets shot like a rifle, more horizontal and that’s what happened here,” he said. 

It also started a small fire, which Clawson helped douse. He said doctors had to pick sharp, hardened fragments of lava out of the wound, but the prognosis is good for his friend.

With Highway 137 severed, authorities were trying on Sunday to open up nearby Highway 11, which was blocked by almost a mile of lava in 2014, to serve as an alternate escape route. The Hawaii National Guard has warned of additional mandatory evacuations if more roads become blocked. Officials at the Hawaii Volcano Authority have said hotter and more viscous lava could be on the way, with fountains spurting as high as 600 feet (182 meters), as seen in a 1955 eruption.

Bron: Reuters.com

NEW VIDEO: Watch as lava from the Kilauea eruption reaches the Pacific Ocean.

Details: https://t.co/GRKVoTplzm #HINews #HNN pic.twitter.com/cf9AuSYWGi

— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) 20 mei 2018

NEW VIDEO - Stunning Kilauea lava river running into ocean, day and night shots. Must watch!!! Thanks to our @LiveStormsMedia partners\. pic.twitter.com/6WXaOgglUg

— Todd Yakoubian (@KATVToddYak) 21 mei 201

| Gewijzigd: 21 mei 2018, 11:55 uur, door Lako