The lava from Kilauea, a non-explosive volcano that has been erupting for years emerged from a vent in June. Traveling slowly, it entered the town of Pahoa on the Big Island on Oct. 26, when it crossed a country road at the edge of town. The leading edge of the molten rock stalled at the edge of town on Oct. 30, but lava began to break away at several other upslope spots. Between October 30 and November 28, the flow smothered part of a cemetery, and burned down a garden shed, tires, some metal materials, and vegetation. The molten rock set fire to the first house in Pahoa around midday on Monday, November 10th. Officials are working on safe evacuation routes and plans. Many residents have evacuated, having put their belongings in storage, others are prepared to leave for a friend’s house, or elsewhere, if necessary when the lava gets closer. The reasons for such disasters to occur is because the community is UN-PREPARED for what will likely happen, not to mention the low-probability of occurrence—high-probability of adverse consequences event. The keys to resilience: 1) know the eruptive history of your region’s volcanoes, 2) be prepared 3) have a warning system 4) evacuate 5) learn from the experience and start over. Presentation courtesy of Dr. Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction

1. UPDATE: LAVA FLOW—A SILENT
VOLCANIC HAZARD IN HAWAII
Friday, November 28, 2014

2. LAVA FLOW MOVING AT 5 M PER
HOUR TOWARDS PAHOA

3. WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
• The lava from Kilauea, a non-explosive
volcano, that has been
erupting for years, emerged from a
vent in June.
• Traveling slowly, it entered Pahoa
on Oct. 26, when it crossed a
country road at the edge of town.

4. Thursday, October 30, 2014

5. LAVA FLOW FROM KILAUEA CONTINUES
ITS ADVANCE TOWARD PAHOA

6. PAHOA HAWAII
• A contingent of National Guard
troops was dispatched to Pahoa on
Thursday, October 30, to provide
security to the Big Island
community that was being
threatened by the slow-moving
river of molten lava creeping
slowly towards the town's center.

7. WHAT HAPPENED?
• The leading edge of the molten rock
stalled at the edge of town on Oct. 30,
but lava began to break away at several
other upslope spots..
• Between October 30 and November 28,
the flow smothered part of a cemetery,
and burned down a garden shed, tires,
some metal materials, and vegetation.

8. Friday, November 28, 2014

9. LAVA FLOW ARRIVES AND SETS FIRE
TO FIRST HOUSE

10. WHAT HAPPENED?
• The molten rock set fire to the first
house in Pahoa around midday on
Monday, November 10th .
• The house was allowed to burn as
firefighters took actions to prevent its
spread to other houses.
• The home's occupants had already left
the residence.

11. WHAT IS NEXT?
• Officials are working on safe
evacuation routes and plans.
• Many residents have evacuated.
• Having put their belongings in
storage, others are prepared to leave
for a friend’s house, or elsewhere, if
necessary when the lava gets closer.
•

12. BACKGROUND

13. ELEMENTS OF VOLCANIC
HAZARDS AND RISK

14. ELEMENTS OF RISK
HAZARDS
EXPOSURE
RISK
VULNERABILITY LOCATION

15. VOLCANOES
PART OF THE PACIFIC “RING OF FIRE,”
HAWAII HAS ACTIVE VOLCANOES AS A
RESULT OF COMPLEX SUBDUCTION OF
THE PACIFIC PLATE BENEATH THE
EURASIAN PLATE

16. 100 OF THE WORLD’S 1,500 ACTIVE
VOLCANOES ARE IN JAPAN

17. LATERAL BLAST
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
FLYING DEBRIS
ASH PLUME AND
GASES
LAVA FLOWS
LAHARS
TOXIC GASES
CAUSES
OF RISK
CASE HISTORIES

18. VOLCANO HAZARDS
CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS
• VERTICAL PLUME (can affect
jet aircraft)
• ASH AND TEPHRA
• LATERAL BLAST
• PYROCLASTIC CLOUDS,
BURSTS, AND FLOWS

19. VOLCANO HAZARDS
CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS
• LAVA FLOWS
• LAHARS (can bury villages)
• EARTHQUAKES (related to
movement of lava)
• “VOLCANIC WINTER” (causing
famine and mass extinctions)

20. THE REASONS FOR
DISASTERS TO OCCUR. . .
• The community is UN-PREPARED
for what will likely
happen, not to mention the
low-probability of occurrence—
high-probability of adverse
consequences event.

21. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community has NO DISASTER
PLANNING SCENARIO or
WARNING SYSTEM in place as a
strategic framework for early threat
identification and coordinated
local, national, regional, and
international countermeasures.

22. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community LACKS THE
CAPACITY TO RESPOND in a
timely and effective manner to
the full spectrum of expected
and unexpected emergency
situations.

23. THE REASONS ARE . . .
• The community is INEFFICIENT
during recovery and
reconstruction because it HAS
NOT LEARNED from either the
current experience or the
cumulative prior experiences.

24. THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE:
1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF
YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,
2) BE PREPARED
3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM
4) EVACUATE
5) LEARN FROM THE
EXPERIENCE AND START OVER

25. HAWAII’S
COMMUNITIES
VOLCANO RISK
•VOLCANO HAZARDS
•PEOPLE & BLDGS.
•VULNERABILITY
•LOCATION
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION
HAZARDS:
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
TSUNAMI RUN UP
AFTERSHOCKS
RISK
ACCEPTABLE RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
GOAL: VOLCANO
DISASTER RESILIENCE
POLICY OPTIONS
• PREPAREDNESS
•PROTECTION
•EARLY WARNING
•EMERGENCY RESPONSE
•RECOVERY and
RECONSTRUCTION