It is my opinion, that the news media has done a very poor job of reporting
the exciting lava flow on the east coast of the Big Island of
Hawaii.
The video link below is from a resident that lives near the major lava
fountain ( filmed about 2 days ago ).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSVQn_ru6-w
skip the first 50 seconds.
The video shows the newly formed lava cone ( where someone's house and
property was about 5 weeks ago ). This lava fountain has been
flowing non-stop at that spot for over 3 weeks.
The news media keeps saying 600 families have lost their homes, as if it is
a hurricane and the homes flooded. The entire
village is under 20 feet of solid rock with another layer of molten rock
still flowing above it. There are no roads or properties
or trees or anything in the path of the lava, which in one place is a mile
wide.
Many of these people were small farmers, growing plants like orchids.
FEMA is never going to help 99% of them, because
it was their second home, or they have no proof of what they lost.
This lava flow could theoretically flow for the remainder of the lives of
all these people, and they may never get to go tour the
devastation except from a plane or a distant boat.
Meanwhile the report of the main volcano is that the bottom floor is a
1,000 feet deep from the rim. And the rubble from
the collapsed walls has buried the lava that is deeper in there.
Many of the houses that survived will not be approachable except by walking
on the lava bed, and roads may never be
re-built to get to them.
The good news is that in 100 years, the new coastline, might be just as
pretty as it was before.
Unfortunately, another community will get built someday and then another
lava flow will wipe it out.
David
_______________________________________________
Texascavers mailing list | http://texascavers.com
[email protected] | Archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
http://lists.texascavers.com/listinfo/texascavers
