Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

Alternative history is always a weak argument. Always.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

We still have time to mess this up!

The revolution will be supervised.

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

‘Museums aren’t America’s attic for its racist shit.’

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

You cannot shame the shameless.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

FFS people, this was a good thing. take the win.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

You are here: Home / Climate Change / How about that weather? / Kilauea Erupts in a Housing Subdivision

Kilauea Erupts in a Housing Subdivision

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Cracks in the ground are spewing lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The USGS Volcanoes Twitter account is a good one to follow for information.

I think Tengu Phule is on Oahu? Any BJ’ers on the Big Island, stay safe!

Open thread.

 

 

Reader Interactions

121Comments

  2. 2.

    Tony Jay

    Earthquakes, volcanoes and Hawaii?

    Three words I really don’t relish seeing used together.

    Let’s hope this doesn’t get any worse than it already is.

  3. 3.

    Yarrow

    Watching molten lava cool and make new land is one of the coolest things ever. It must be very scary for those in the path. I hope people are heeding warnings and evacuating if necessary.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    Just another day in paradise.

    Expecting winds to shift over the weekend and blow some of the fumes over in Maui’s direction.

    Yeah, TP is on Oahu, I’m on Maui, so we’re both far away. Didn’t even feel anything here from the dozens of quakes preceding and following the current activity.

    Just an hour after a large tremor Friday morning, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake shook the Big Island on Friday afternoon, sending people fleeing from buildings and community centers and increasing concerns about new eruptions in Puna’s Leilani Estates.

    Bystanders said the latest quake appeared to last about 15 seconds.

    It came about an hour after a 5.4 magnitude shook the Big Island Friday morning, which was followed by a fifth eruption spewing lava into Leilani Estates.
    [snip]
    Before Thursday’s eruption, HVO research geophysicist Jim Kauahikaua said the seismic activity seen in recent days is similar to what happened before an eruption of Kilauea in February 1955. During that eruption, at least 24 separate volcanic vents opened up and lava covered about 3,900 acres. Source

  5. 5.

    SC54HI

    On O’ahu myself so not in Madame Pele’s path. Nor did I feel the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit about an hour ago though I’m very thankful it did not cause a wrap-around tsunami. In general, though, eruptions from shield volcanoes are less hazardous than those from stratovolcanoes (like Vesuvius or Krakatoa).

    Here is an on-site video from 2-3 hours ago. The FB poster has it set to public so it should be visible.

  6. 6.

    Kelly

    My first trip to Hawaii was 1988. Made a point of visiting Kilauea because maybe next time the eruptions would have stopped. 30 years later it’s still perking along. I wonder what percentage of Big Island residents have always had the eruptions running in the background?

  7. 7.

    Tom Levenson

    I flew over the Kilauea area many, many years ago on a helicopter tour. A big feature of the tour was showing the lava track through a subdivision, w. just enough hints of habitation to make the devastation personal.

    I can’t imagine building, or rebuilding, anywhere in that neighborhood.

  8. 8.

    Yarrow

    @ruemara: When I visited the active lava flows on the Big Island some dumbass was throwing sticks into the molten lava. A guide who seemed to be native Hawaiian came over and asked him to stop and said he was disrespecting Pele. The dumbass (white guy, probably a tourist like most of us) was completely shocked. He didn’t know how to respond. He did stop throwing sticks into the lava, though.

  9. 9.

    Mike in NC

    Since Trump arrived we’ve had endless natural disasters: wildfires, floods, hurricanes. Might as well add earthquakes and volcanos to the mix.

  11. 11.

    John Fremont

    Hopefully Trump has learned from the Puerto Rico debacle and will show up sooner with paper towels.

    This comment contains sarcasm.

  12. 12.

    Mary G

    @NotMax: Does homeowner’s insurance even pay for lava destruction there? Most standard policies have “Act of God” exceptions that would let them blow claims off; that’s why we buy separate earthquake policies here in California. Can you do that too?

  13. 13.

    Jay

    @Mike in NC:

    If you read your GodBotherer’s doomsday and rapture tracts, natural disasters are one of the end of days signs that occur shortly after the Antichrist comes to power.

    Plagues are another.

  15. 15.

    Yarrow

    @NotMax: That is very cool. We didn’t see it hit the ocean. Instead it was flowing on land across a road. We had to walk out to it from where we parked the car, but once we got there it was just mesmerizing. I could watch it for hours. It’s so hot but cools fairly quickly and there you go–new rock. On the way back we walked across some places that the guides told us the lava had flowed the day before. Just couldn’t quite wrap my head around it. My favorite was the road sign in the middle of the cooled lava flow.You knew where the road had been but it wasn’t there anymore.

  18. 18.

    Dmbeaster

    This eruption is going to do a lot of damage – probably the most destructive phase of PuuOo yet.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    @Mary G

    No idea, but there may be some sort of extra policy or rider as there is when one wants hurricane insurance. Volcanoes on Maui either extinct or dormant (last eruption of Haleakala was ~1790),.

  20. 20.

    JGabriel

    Cheryl Rofer @ Top

    Cracks in the ground are spewing lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision on the Big Island of Hawaii.

    Remember when Bobby Jindal wanted to cut funding for Volcano Monitoring?

    Ah, those were the days.

    (Safe wishes to everyone in Hawaii.)

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    @Mary G: I remember reading an article after a big eruption went through a subdivision and destroyed the houses. One house was left standing. Those people were in some kind of standoff with the insurance company because their house itself was fine. No water, no electricity and no road but the house was okay. The insurance company didn’t want to pay (of course) and the people couldn’t really live there and no longer had neighbors or a community or a way in or out. I don’t know how it ended.

  27. 27.

    Hob

    I stayed in that neighborhood for a week last fall, at a B&B run by two nice guys who had retired there from the mainland. I hope everyone there is okay.

  28. 28.

    gene108

    Sigh… to bad we can’t sacrifice Republicans to the volcano gods to stop the eruption ….

    On another note CNN and MSNBC are covering Trump’s statement about how he wants to do a sit down interview with Mueller, but he feels like he’s not being treated fairly by Mueller, so until he’s treated fairly he can’t testify.

    Adam’s “Trump Doctrine” of “you will treat me fairly or else” really fits what Trump is trying to do with regards to his statements on Mueller today. Trump’s not being treated fairly by Mueller, because Mueller and his team are all “angry Democrats” doing a “witch hunt” on him.

    But the media has not read Adam’s Trump Doctrine and are covering this “news” poorly.

  29. 29.

    Mary G

    Looked it up, and insurance covers some damage, but…

    What is covered (from State Farm)

    Most homeowners policies provide coverage for property loss caused by volcanic eruption when it is the result of a volcanic blast, airborne shock waves, ash, dust, or lava flow. Fire or explosion resulting from volcanic eruption also is covered.

    Direct, sudden damage to your vehicle is covered under most automobile insurance policies if you have comprehensive coverage at the time of the loss.

    A vehicle crash that happens during or after a volcanic eruption would be covered under the terms of your policy, like any other crash.

    What isn’t covered

    Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage from earthquake, land tremors, landslide, mudflow, or other earth movement regardless of whether or not the quake is caused by or causes a volcanic eruption. Earthquake coverage is usually available either by endorsement for an additional charge or by purchasing a separate earthquake policy. Most insurance companies will not issue earthquake policies during or immediately after an earthquake.

    Flood damage is not covered under a typical homeowners insurance policy. Flood insurance is available through the National Flood Insurance Program, provided the policy is in force prior to a flood.

    Damage to land, trees, shrubs, lawns, property in the open, open sheds, or the contents of those open sheds are typically not covered.

    Expenses incurred for preventive measures are not covered under either the auto or homeowners policy.
    The cost to remove ash from personal property is generally not covered unless the ash first causes direct physical loss to personal property. There is no coverage to remove ash from the surrounding land or landscaping.
    Most policies do not cover damage that occurs to homes or vehicles over time due to volcanic dust or ash.

    Wear and tear from any circumstance is generally not covered.

    So like most insurance, when they sell you the policy, they cover everything, but when you make a claim, not so much.

  31. 31.

    SC54HI

    @Cheryl Rofer:
    Cheryl – I have a prior comment in moderation, probably due to links to videos (one is FB & the other local news). Thanks for liberating it!

  33. 33.

    TenguPhule

    @JGabriel:

    (Safe wishes to everyone in Hawaii.)

    So far so good. No injuries or deaths. Lots of people may soon be homeless though.

  34. 34.

    TenguPhule

    @gene108:

    Sigh… to bad we can’t sacrifice Republicans to the volcano gods to stop the eruption ….

    Too few native Republicans and we have strict import quotas to prevent them from becoming yet another imported alien pest.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Midsomer Murders, although I think it’s okay and I’ll put it on to watch or semi-watch while I’m reading Balloon Juice or semi-doing something else. But the local PBS station recently started running a “new” block of episodes—according to IMDB, they are from Season 13 (2010)—and, OMG, they are shot in video (not film). They look awful!

    They have that sort of video “immediacy” that somehow kills the dramatic realism and puts you in the tedious soap-opera zone. Ugh. Midsomer Murders is not a hotbed of great acting anyway—although the regulars do a mostly serviceable job—and the “live” video feel makes it unwatchable. WTF were the powers that be thinking?!

    ETA: It’s like being forced to watch EastEnders or Ballykissangel with the occasional dead body popping up.

  39. 39.

    Luthe

    Sigh… to bad we can’t sacrifice Republicans to the volcano gods to stop the eruption ….

    I’m pretty sure throwing Republicans in the volcano would count as disrespecting Pele.

  43. 43.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax: Its meant for a certain kind of audience. Older, likes British humor. The body count gets fairly ridiculous by season 3.

  45. 45.

    hellslittlestangel

    Great. Another place for Trump to fuck over by neglecting to provide relief. Because, you know, it’s Obamaland.

  49. 49.

    Beautifulplumage

    @Yarrow: I didn’t see an active flow when on the Big Island in 1981, but the rest of your post sums up much of my reaction. The road sign especially.

  50. 50.

    hellslittlestangel

    @Steeplejack: Season 13 was the last one with John Nettles, who was succeeded by the execrable Neil Dudgeon. So enjoy it for what you can, things only get worse.

  53. 53.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack:

    EastEnders or Ballykissangel with the occasional dead body popping up

    This would have made both EastEnders and Ballykissangel much more watchable. Or just watchable at all.

  55. 55.

    Adam L Silverman

    @NotMax: @TenguPhule: For a village of about 30 families, the homicide rate, including by firearms, is so high, I expect the NRA will be cutting a video about why the other residents need to be conceal carrying.

  58. 58.

    hellslittlestangel

    @zhena gogolia: Well, he’s somewhat appropriately named. Dudgeon is the only emotion he’s able to portray, and even that he does poorly. Imagine a dumber, slightly younger, and thoroughly unlikable Inspector Morse.

  60. 60.

    B.B.A.

    News from the Empire State: Cynthia Nixon has released her tax returns. However she’s still a Berniesis with no chance of winning, but with a chance of throwing the election to a Republican who’ll pardon Il Douche for his many state-level crimes.

    Of course, Cuomo would also pardon Il Douche just to spite deBlasio… what did this state ever do to deserve this political class?

  61. 61.

    Brachiator

    So, with this volcano, do they just watch and observe? Could there be more earthquakes?

  65. 65.

    TenguPhule

    @Adam L Silverman:

    For a village of about 30 families, the homicide rate, including by firearms, is so high, I expect the NRA will be cutting a video about why the other residents need to be conceal carrying.

    Puna is essentially a smaller browner version of Florida without the snakes, alligators, spiders, iguanas, possums, swamp rats of unusual proportions, fire ants, scorpions and Cubans.

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Was happy to see SteveInTheWTF this evening.

    Thinking kind thoughts for our Hawaii’an Juicers. Stay safe!

  70. 70.

    TenguPhule

    @Brachiator:

    So, with this volcano, do they just watch and observe? Could there be more earthquakes?

    Mandatory evacuations till we figure out where exactly all the lava is going towards. Ideally it travels to sea along similar paths that prior flows have.

    Worst case, that area goes up in flame and the property there all gets written off.

    More quakes expected, smaller ones probably.

  77. 77.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    Just looked it up. Dudgeon comes in as John Barnaby, not Tom Barnaby. Apparently a cousin who is also a police inspector. (Yeah, right.) They appear together in “The Sword of Guillaume,” the first episode of Season 13 (which I skipped last week because of the video thing), then Dudgeon recurs in Episode 8, “Fit for Murder.” Goes solo in the next episode, the start of Season 14. I think I’ll pass. I’ve got Poirot, Father Brown and Dr. Blake to fall back on.

  80. 80.

    But her emails!!

    @B.B.A.:

    Berniesis? Is that short for Bernie nemesis or just a Berniebro with ovaries because I don’t see how Nixon qualifies as either.

  86. 86.

    hellslittlestangel

    @Steeplejack: See also: Endeavour, Vera and Inspector George Gently. There’s about 20 seasons worth of the best British TV detective series right there.

  88. 88.

    TenguPhule

    @PaulWartenberg:

    whose idea was it to build on an ACTIVE volcano in an island chain???

    To be fair, land prices here are so expensive that the only cheap properties left are in volcano country.

  90. 90.

    TenguPhule

    ‘Stay tuned!’: Trump and advisers treat fate of North Korea prisoners as a cliffhanger

    Casual public comments from the president and his surrogates on Americans held in labor camps have broken precedent for delicate negotiations on detainees.

    Via Wapo.

    I just can’t with these assholes.

  91. 91.

    Aleta

    Strange to see those eruptive fissures on the map at Leilani Estates and realize the lava is moving underneath that whole surface to get there.

  92. 92.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steeplejack:

    Cabot Cove, no fucking way would you find me there. I’d be guaranteed to be either corpse or prime suspect, and I’m much too old for any of that shit.

  93. 93.

    Jeffro

    @gene108: Why doesn’t some armchair psychologist grab a few minutes on CNN and explain how Trumpov’s “being treated fairly” = “love me unconditionally, no matter how much of an asshole I am”? it’s not that difficult.

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    I have to admit I don’t know. I’ve got all of the last season stored on the DVR, and it has just started recording the first few episodes of the new season. One of the stored episode’s thumbnail descriptions mentions Blake proposing to Jean, but I don’t know what ensued. This reminds me I need to get to binge-watching!

  96. 96.

    Soprano2

    My son-in-law lives on Maui. He says that stuff smells just like its name! I’m just glad he’s away from the lava and earthquakes. They just had massive flooding on two islands, too.

  98. 98.

    Steeplejack

    @hellslittlestangel:

    I love all of those. George Gently is an underrated pleasure, although I think they don’t handle the ’60s mise-en-scène quite as well as Endeavour. They get a little heavy-handed.

    I really, really like Vera. Great set of characters. I’ve seen only the first two or three seasons on PBS here—there’s a secondary station that’s all Brit-stuff all the time—and I need to get caught up with that.

  99. 99.

    Fair Economist

    @B.B.A.:

    Cynthia Nixon has released her tax returns. However she’s still a Berniesis with no chance of winning

    Um, no, she supported Hillary.

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Well, you’d probably be okay if you were an old and dear friend of Jessica Fletcher’s. Maybe falsely accused of murder once in a while, but it would all work out.

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    @zhena gogolia

    SPOILER ALERT – SPOILER ALERT – SPOILER ALERT

    In October 2017, the Seven Network announced they acquired production rights for 2018. Producers later announced production would be suspended pending outcome of the police investigation of the sexual assault allegations directed at Craig McLachlan, however in April 2018, Seven Network announced a telemovie will be filmed but will not star Craig McLachlan, it will be titled “The Blake Mysteries”, which will see Doctor Lucien Blake disappear in mysterious circumstances, with his new bride Jean Beazley to take on a more central role Source

  104. 104.

    Steeplejack

    @zhena gogolia:

    No. The last episode I’ve seen is “Darkness Visible,” the last of Season 3. “While investigating the murder of a local magistrate, Dr Blake realizes the answers to this crime are inextricably linked with the death of his mother 40 years earlier.”

    No spoilers, please!

  105. 105.

    B.B.A.

    @But her emails!!: @Fair Economist: I meant in the more general sense of a no-hope left-wing attack on the party establishment. She may have supported Hillary two years ago but this year she’s clearly taking on the Wilmer role.

  107. 107.

    But her emails!!

    @B.B.A.: Key difference is that Cuomo is as big an asshole as Bernie and actually needs to be attacked from the left.

  108. 108.

    Steeplejack

    @SFBayAreaGal:

    I came late to Vera, because for a long time I thought it was some sort of ongoing domestic drama, just going by the promos or I don’t even know what, at this point. Then when I finally watched an episode I was like, Holy shnikeys, this is great! It took me a while to watch the episodes (and rewatch some) to get the chronology straight, but now I’ve watched through the end of Season 6. I keep waiting for the Brit-centric PBS station to run new episodes, but no luck so far. They’re probably on Netflix. (I know some of the earlier seasons are.)

    Brenda Blethyn is great, the supporting cast is great, and the writing is good. Nice blend of solid police work and singular insight from Vera, and the other cops are given enough stuff to do so that they aren’t just standing around admiring Vera’s genius. And the cinematography is great, although I joke with my brother, who has watched a few episodes, that all the cases seem to happen on the 10 sunniest days of the year in Northumberland.

    ETA: Just occurs to me that it’s a good bookend to Shetland.

  109. 109.

    Fair Economist

    @But her emails!!: Cynthia Nixon’s run has already busted up the “Independent” caucus that gave the state senate to the Republicans and gotten voting rights back for ex-felons, so it’s a huge win already.

  110. 110.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SiubhanDuinne: If that were true, I would never have jumped out of airplanes or skied certain runs. And my life would have be lesser for that.

  113. 113.

    J R in WV

    I have cousins in Kona and old friends on the mountain above Hilo. He was an astronaut, became an astronomy prof at U Hawaii Hilo, build a telescope for the U up on the volcano.

    His wife, my actual friend, took us all around the volcano, mostly just outside the actual park. We hiked along a crevasse with a pile of solidified lava running beside the crevasse, maybe 30 feet high. She told us it had blown out of the crevasse red hot and came down beside it from the wind taking it to the side.

    Pretty amazing, vents with sulfur crystals glimmering beside, warm steam from the depths, Pele working below us.

    Now Pele is working Hard! Learned that there is no native Hawaiian legend about taking lava away – legend is you have to respect Pele and her stones!! Which I do, totally!!!

    Have emailed cousin, no word yet. He travels a lot, may be in Brazil, or Europe. His wife was consul general from Tibetian government in exile to the EU back in the day, before they moved to Hawaii.

  114. 114.

    Mike in NC

    @Omnes Omnibus: I had a salty warrant officer on one of my ships who asked, “Why would anybody want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

  115. 115.

    The Other Chuck

    @PaulWartenberg:

    whose idea was it to build on an ACTIVE volcano in an island chain???

    The Polynesians? Storms still take out way more than the occasional bit of lava. It’s not Vesuvius.

  117. 117.

    J R in WV

    Cousin is in Kona, reports really felt the 6.9R quake, just a couple of the others. The Big Island has two volcanic mountains, they are on the other one on the west side of the island, Hualalai, which isn’t as active as Kilauea is.

    Hualalai hasn’t erupted since 1800 or so, but there’s long streaks of black bare AhAh lava down the mountainsides still today. All the action is at Kilauea now, but Pele could change that in an afternoon.

  118. 118.

    Dmbeaster

    @Brachiator: There is nothing that can be done, other than to watch and hope.

    It looks really bad. Major new eruptive activity in Hawaii tend to begin with fissure eruptions. The current eruption cycle that began in 1983 started as a fissure eruption, and by the third year, became centered on the Pu’u’O’o cinder cone. The current fissure eruptions look like more of the same, but further east on the same rift zone. I would expect it to be a major new eruptive phase, but there is no way to know in advance. I read today that the activity has died down, but it would be very unusual if this was it.

    The currect eruption cycle of 35 years is the largest in at least 500 years.

    The location of the new fissures is very bad, and not just because its in a subdivision. The USGS publishes detailed maps of expected flow direction, and lava from this fissure will travel north and northeast into significant development zones before it hits the sea. Most of the flows for the last 35 years have gone southeast, but this one will not. It is far more dangerous than the 2014 flow that went northeast.

  119. 119.

    Ruckus

    @J R in WV:
    Have an acquaintance in Kona but other than that one person don’t know anyone living there. A 6.9 is a damn big quake. I’ve been in a 6.7 with a rather high acceleration rate of 1.8g, with two 6.0 after shocks. My buddy and his wife who lived a mile away from us lost their house. I lived about 8 miles from the epicenter, my business was about 9 miles away. Everything inside both achieved ground level.

  120. 120.

    Steve in the ATL

    Cracks in the ground are spewing lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision on the Big Island of Hawaii.

    My HOA would never allow that

  121. 121.

    Jack the Second

    @The Other Chuck: Eh, I think it’s not any worse than many other places people build houses. California can kill you without warning with an earthquake, the Mid West with a tornado. Volcanic activity in Hawaii has always seemed more like hurricanes to me. Sure, it may be unstoppable, but you usually get some warning and time to evacuate.

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