Hawaiian authorities have ordered a mandatory evacuation for residents of some neighborhoods threatened by ongoing and still-expanding lava flows from the Kilauea volcano, and those who refuse to evacuate by noon local time on Friday will be subject to arrest. After the deadline, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency will not conduct rescue missions for those in evacuation areas.
The volcano has been active for nearly a month, and "vigorous lava eruptions" continue daily. The 24 fissures have shot "persistent fountains" of lava as high as 260 feet in the air, and the lava has blanketed an area of five and half square miles and counting. However, geologists estimate a mere 2 percent of the molten lava in the Kilauea crater has moved downhill so far.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'Without mandatory testing, bird flu will continue circulating at farms across the country'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Khan supporters converge on IslamabadSpeed Read Protesters clashing with Pakistani authorities are demanding the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinks
Speed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 endsSpeed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversibleSpeed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floodsSpeed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane OscarSpeed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane MiltonSpeed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
-
Florida braces for Milton as FEMA tackles Helene, liesSpeed Read A flurry of misinformation has been spread about the federal response to Hurricane Helene
