More evacuations as eruption escalates

HAWAII – Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has erupted out of two new vents prompting authorities to call for an immediate evacuation of residents from a second neighbourhood on the Big Island.

The County of Hawaii Civil Defence Agency issued an emergency bulletin ordering residents of the Lanipuna Gardens area on the east side of the island to leave their homes.

“Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirms two new vents. All Lanipuna residents must evacuate now,” the agency said in its bulletin on Wednesday, adding that the two vents had opened near two road intersections and were “actively erupting”.

Earlier on Tuesday, residents of the hardest hit area, Leilani Estates, drove through clouds of sulphur and over cracked roads to make desperate and possibly last visits home during a lull in the eruption, which has already destroyed 35 homes and other structures.

Some 1700 residents were ordered to leave Leilani Estates.

No deaths or major injuries have been reported since Kilauea, which has been in a state of nearly constant eruption since 1983, began a series of major explosions on Thursday last week, spewing fountains of lava as high as 90 metres into the air and emitting deadly volcanic gases up through cracks in the earth.

- RNZI