Man versus lava; Hawaii versus hurricane

in environment on 2014-10-18 14:18 (#2TF4)

Hawaii's Kilauea lava flow that began in June appears to have stalled, after slowing for more than a month. Coincidentally, just in time for residents of the islands to prepare to be hit by tropical storm Ana. The lava flow did relatively little damage, destroying roads but leaving threatened communities relatively unscathed. But active volcanoes are unpredictable, and the flow could resume at any time.

With that, we take a look back on ways that people have tried, and often failed, to contain or divert lava flows. From George S Patton ordering bombing runs on Hawaii's Mauna Loa in 1935, to spraying 6.8 billion liters of water on Iceland's Eldfell lava flow over a five month period, dismissively called "peeing on the lava". The US Geological Survey suggests that the Iceland (and Etna) diversion "may not have succeeded had their respective eruptions continued".

If Ana's winds increase to hurricane-force, it could become the first hurricane to make landfall on the islands in the past 22 years, illustrating Hawaii's peculiar immunity to hurricanes that scientists have been left to speculate about for decades. The island of Kauai being the notable exception.

Great article (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-10-18 19:44 (#2TF5)

Nice one, evilviper. I wasn't aware of what's going on. I was expecting to read that somehow the combination of wind and lava were combining to exacerbate the lava's destruction however, and that's not the case:

However, there is worry that the flow may start up again, and if it does, locals may be battling natural disasters on two fronts.

That's because tropical storm Ana is still bearing down on Hawaii, and there remains a chance that it can still spin up to hurricane-force winds before making landfall.

"In addition to the high winds, high surf and storm surge may be expected as well as heavy rains and thunder showers. " the HCD reported. "We are asking Hawaii Island residents to monitor your local radio broadcasts for updates and to prepare for possible storm conditions which could begin to affect the Big Island by Friday."

In preparation for this, the US Coast Guard plans to close all Hawaii ports east of Oahu on Friday, and could also close the ports of Honolulu and Nawiliwil over the weekend, according to Hawaii News Now.

So, just dealing with lots of trouble at once - not as big a deal as I thought.