Gov requests federal assistance in face of advancing lava
The Pahoa lava flow as seen on Friday.
Lava moved closer to Pahoa on Thursday prompting the closure of a Apaa Street near the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station.
Lava moved closer to Pahoa on Thursday prompting the closure of a Apaa Street near the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station.
Lava moved closer to Pahoa on Thursday prompting the closure of a Apaa Street near the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station.
Lava moved closer to Pahoa on Thursday prompting the closure of a Apaa Street near the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station.
Lava moved closer to Pahoa on Thursday prompting the closure of a Apaa Street near the Pahoa Waste Transfer Station.
A ground view of the flow shows p?hoehoe lava slowly moving through thick vegetation and creating thick plumes of smoke.
A closer view of the flow front from the air, showing the narrow lobe of lava moving along the dirt road. Kaohe Homesteads is in the left side of the photograph.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie today signed a request for a presidential disaster declaration for assistance to supplement local emergency protective measures in response to the ongoing Kilauea lava flow.
Hawaii County has already undertaken the restoration of alternate roads to affected communities, while the state has deployed measures to accommodate 900 schoolchildren who may be displaced by the lava flow, and support further air quality monitoring.
Friday morning’s Hawaii County Civil Defense assessment showed lava advancing about 300 yards since Thursday.
The flow was about 150 yards from Cemetery Road near the Pahoa Transfer Station on Friday.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said the topography of the area is keeping the flow narrow and moving fast — about 460 yards a day.
Civil Defense officials expect the lava to hit Cemetery Road sometime Saturday morning.
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No evacuations have been ordered, and the residents of a home that is nearest to the flow already left voluntarily.
Hawaii County Civil Defense is planning to go door-to-door Saturday to find out how many people might need shelter if the eruption continues at its current pace.
Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira has said he will give residents three to five days of notice before an evacuation order.
Apaa Street and Cemetery Road remained closed between the Pahoa Transfer Station and the Kaohe Homesteads Road. In addition, Civil Defense and public safety personnel are operating in the area round the clock to maintain close observations of flow activity.
