Medicine & TechnologyThe United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, situated on its Big Island, has erupted Sunday, December 20, and warns of a possible "significant emission" of volcanic materials into the atmosphere.
After a stunning increase in seismic activity an an apparent drop in the lava lake at the summit of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano within the national park, researchers and seismologists in Hawaii are concerned that pressure in the volcano is continuing to change—and are sounding what appears to be an indefinite alarm until more can be determined. In the last two days alone, researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified small earthquakes at the highest rate to date, setting a new record at one earthquake every couple of minutes. And with the seismic changes, researchers with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are hoping that a few changes can help save lives in the event that an eruption could occur.
As Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano threatens nearby towns with the destructive force of its lava flow, residents and analysts evaluate the potential casualties and worst case possibilities of this dangerous scenario. And with the lava flow reported to only be 70 yards away from the nearest home on Monday Oct. 27, researchers fear that the worst case scenario may have already begun.
It’s been an encroaching threat months in the making, and as of Monday, local authorities on Hawaii’s Big Island report that the destructive lava flow they’ve been tracking in recent days is only 70 meters from the nearest residential property… and it’s likely to take its first home in a matter of hours.
Inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands owe their tropical homes to volcanic activity that gave rise to the US state thousands of years ago. But some fear that continued lava flows may soon engulf the homes they’ve built as a new volcanic eruption threats the rural population of the Big Island.