By AUDREY McAVOY (Related Press)
HONOLULU (AP) — Prayer. Bombs. Partitions. Over the a long time, individuals have tried all of them to stanch the stream of lava from Hawaii’s volcanoes because it lumbered towards roads, houses and infrastructure.
Now Mauna Loa — the world’s largest energetic volcano — is erupting once more, and lava is slowly approaching a serious thoroughfare connecting the Large Island’s east and west sides. And as soon as extra, individuals are asking if something could be carried out to cease or divert the stream.
“It comes up each time there’s an eruption and there’s lava heading in the direction of habited areas or highways. Some individuals say, ‘Construct a wall’ or ‘Board up,’ and different individuals say, ‘No don’t!’” mentioned Scott Rowland, a geologist on the College of Hawaii.
People have not often had a lot success stopping lava and, regardless of the world’s technological advances, doing so remains to be tough and depending on the drive of the stream and the terrain. However many in Hawaii additionally query the knowledge of interfering with nature and Pele, the Hawaiian deity of volcanoes and hearth.
Makes an attempt to divert lava have a protracted historical past in Hawaii.
In 1881, the governor of Hawaii Island declared a day of prayer to cease lava from Mauna Loa because it headed for Hilo. The lava saved coming.
Based on the U.S. Geological Survey, Princess Regent Lili’uokalani and her division heads went to Hilo and regarded methods to avoid wasting the city. They developed plans to construct obstacles to divert the stream and place dynamite alongside a lava tube to empty the molten rock provide.
Princess Ruth Ke’elikōlani approached the stream, supplied brandy and pink scarves and chanted, asking Pele to cease the stream and go residence. The stream stopped earlier than the obstacles have been constructed.
Greater than 50 years later, Thomas A. Jaggar, the founding father of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, requested U.S. Military Air Providers to ship planes to bomb a Mauna Loa vent to disrupt lava channels.
Lt. Col. George S. Patton (who later grew to become well-known as a basic in Europe throughout World Battle II) directed planes to drop 20 600-pound (272-kilogram) demolition bombs, in response to a Nationwide Park Service account of the marketing campaign. The bombs every had 355 kilos (161 kilograms) of TNT. The planes additionally dropped 20 smaller bombs that solely had black powder cost.
Jagger mentioned the bombing helped to “hasten the tip of the stream,” however Howard Stearns, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist onboard the final bombing run, was uncertain. In his 1983 autobiography, he wrote: “I’m positive it was a coincidence.”
Based on the park service, geologists at present are also uncertain the bombing stopped the lava stream, which didn’t finish with the bombing. As an alternative, the flows waned over the following few days and didn’t change paths.
Rowland mentioned authorities might use a bulldozer to pile a giant berm of damaged rock in entrance of Daniel Okay. Inouye Freeway. If the terrain is flat, then lava would pile up behind the wall. However the lava could stream over it, prefer it did when one thing related was tried in Kapoho city in 1960.
Quickly transferring lava flows, like these from Kilauea volcano in 2018, can be harder to cease, he mentioned.
“It will have been actually laborious to construct the partitions quick sufficient for them. And so they have been heading in the direction of teams of houses. And so you’ll maybe be sacrificing some houses for others, which might simply be a authorized mess,” he mentioned.
He mentioned he believes most individuals in Hawaii wouldn’t need to construct a wall to guard the freeway as a result of it will “mess with Pele.”
If lava crosses the freeway, Rowland mentioned officers might rebuild that part of the street like they did in 2018 when completely different routes have been coated.
Hawaii County’s director of civil protection, Talmadge Magno, mentioned Wednesday the county has no present plans to attempt to divert the stream, although he has had some discussions about it.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who was governor in the course of the 2018 Kilauea eruption, advised reporters his expertise confirmed him it’s not potential to beat nature and Pele.
Considering it’s best to bodily divert lava is a Western thought rooted within the notion that people have to regulate all the pieces, mentioned Kealoha Pisciotta, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner. She mentioned individuals want to regulate to the lava, not the opposite manner round.
“We’re not separate from nature,” she mentioned. “We’re part of nature.”
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Related Press writers Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed to this report.