Meanwhile Mount Fuego in Guatemala is also spewing. It’s one of those pyroclastic flow types, which can be deadlier than slow-moving lava, and has killed more than 60 people so far.
But one of the dumbest things you can do when a pyroclastic flow is bearing down on you is to stand your ground so you can get a good cellphone pic of it.
If anyone could get away with it, it would be Teela Brown.
You really do have to wonder about this.
It’s easy for individual homeowners to take the position that their house will possibly / probably be okay for the rest of their life. But the local government was pretty much guaranteed to be faced with a disaster - the only question being: when?
Given that the east rift area was essentially certain to become uninhabitable, isn’t it close to obvious that people should have been strongly discouraged from putting houses there? No roads, no power lines, no water or sewer, no building permits.
I wonder if this was ever debated?
There is a finite amount of real estate in this world. Who are we to stop some asshole from fleecing the gullible to make a quick profit off some of it?
Actually, I’ve been a bit surprised how hardly any of those who have lost their homes act like they were unaware of the risks - nearly all seem to understand and pretty much accept it.
But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s an unholy mess that will be difficult and expensive to sort out. And it really looks like it should have been easy to predict, and thus to avoid.
There is actually an area on Kilauea where, after a lavaflow, none of the roads, powerlines, water, sewer, electric, etc. services were restored. People still rebuilt on top of the new rock, MacGyvering solutions to the above. It’s Kalapana Gardens, which experienced flows as recently as 1990.
So even if the government had never supplied service to the current area being buried there would probably be people living there. It’s an island, which means limited real estate.
Yes, they rebuilt, got destroyed again in 2011 and rebuilt. We’re into fringe population now.
"The origins of Kalapana Gardens stretch back to the speculative subdivision bonanza days of the 1960s, when Big Island developers sold thousands of lots in high volcanic hazard zones, often to Mainland buyers, sight unseen. Like other such subdivisions, Kalapana Gardens had no water or electric service, and its grid of substandard streets looked far more substantial on a map than from behind a steering wheel.
One hundred and twenty houses had been built there by 1990. A year later, though, all of them were gone, burned and buried beneath the 50 or 60 feet of lava from the same flow that wiped out the nearby historic Hawaiian community of Kalapana and its famous black sand beach." …
Here’s the story - The Lava Dwellers, Big Island, Hawai‘i: These People Live on One of the Most Active Volcanoes on Earth
Right - but most likely dozens rather than thousands of them.
I don’t see much wrong with saying “Hey, if you want to build on your own property, assuming all the burden of support and risk of eventual destruction, go for it. But don’t expect us to tap your fellow citizens for taxes to smooth your way and encourage a host of others to join you.”
Aside, I was just criticized for mispronouncing molten rock. In my dialect, “lăva” is common and acceptable, but I was informed that only “lahva” is correct (which may be how we specifically pronounce that brand of pumice soap) and my native pronunciation is unintelligible.
Hundreds more homes destroyed last night:
Good pics at the link, too.
From State of Hawaii Dept. of Land & Natural Resources on the Lava Tree State Monument page [emphasis mine]:
not quite a nonsequitur, though,
I cut down trees, I eat my lunch,
I go to the [COLOR=“Red”]lavatree[/COLOR].
On Wednesdays I go shoppin’
And have buttered scones for tea.
If they dropped them into the volcano, that would put an end to the problem pronto. But will they ever put me in charge of anything? No-o-o-o-o.
Aw, man. I like that place.
I have not heard whether the lava hit it.
It’s closed due to “volcanic activity in the park”, which might mean some, or all, or none of it is actually covered by lava. I take it to mean there are volcanic hazards in the area which, in addition to hot, liquid rock can also mean poisonous gasses, ash type things in the air, and so on.
Given that the park was formed by lava interacting with the local flora, the recent eruption might actually (eventually, when everything cools off) either expand the park or give it some new exhibits while “retiring” old ones.
More wailing in the Star Advertiser from residents: “Residents near lava feel safe, chafe at government controls.”
Hard stuff like mandatory evacuations - BECAUSE THERE’S THIS RIVER OF 2000 DEG. LAVA RUNNING A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YARDS FROM YOUR HOUSE. You have millions of cubic yards of lava a day coursing down an unstable crack strewn raised levee of its own making. This is the extra hot, fast running lava; not the slow chunky stuff from the initial flows that represented magma from 1960 or even as far back as the 1924 flows. This lava covers hundreds of yards in minutes. Yes, the entire rift area sits on magma deposits not that far right below where they live. Molten rock, not hardened.
Curfew for entry/exit from area in the night hours. THERE’S NO LIGHTS AND MASSIVE CRACKS THAT ARE STILL APPEARING IN THE ROADS. Some of the cracks are displaced multiple feet. Power lines are down all over.
“We stayed because we are adults. We make our own decisions. We know what the situation is.”
“I’ve never felt the need to put on a gas mask”. He probably means dust mask as most of what was sold did not have the proper filters for sulfur-dioxide or hydrogen-sulfide gases WHICH ARE BEING EMITTED IN THE THOUSANDS OF TONS PER HOUR. It’s been EXTREMELY lucky that the trade winds have been up. Ash, rocks, and gas flow has been in a consistent direction. A reversal (which happens a lot) or dead air and these folks are gonners.
I’m sorry but the whole, “…ADULTS…DECISIONS, KNOW SITUATION…”, ship sailed a long time ago. These folks, if they survive, would be the first to wail about slow response, “nobody told us”, I’ve crashed, we’re on fire, HELP.
I’m sorry for their losses but some folks need more than the normal help.
Apologize for the yelling. I’ll go with bold if they promise to keep the stupid down.
I think you forgot this, smithsb.
There’s a lot of stupid in that article.
Here is the house we rented. It’s gone now. 
You don’t leave your pets behind! :mad:
apparently other things are more important
:dubious: