In , the Big Island's other active volcano Mauna Loa began threatening Hilo as lava crept toward the city. George Patton ordered the bombing of the volcano in an effort to stop the flow. The bombing did temporarily stop it, but the lava continued to flow shortly thereafter.
In , an eruption on the east rift zone of Kilauea threatened parts of Kapoho. Several barriers were built in attempt to stop the lava flows from reaching a school, residences and Coast Guard facilities. Despite efforts to keep building them higher and stronger, the barriers were eventually buried by lava. One of the walls, a 1-mile-long barrier, held back lava for about a week.
But the flow eventually breached it and destroyed several structures. However, a lighthouse was miraculously spared. Cool it with water. In Iceland, one of the most successful ways to stop lava happened in , when lava from the Eldfell volcano threatened a town in Haimey. There was a large effort to slow the lava flow by pumping billions of gallons of seawater onto the creeping lava.
The eruption eventually ended, and most residents were able to return. Let nature take its course. Of course, one of the main reasons why diverting a volcano in Hawaii might be like fighting a losing battle is because of Madam Pele. After another Mauna Loa eruption in , the US military bombed the channel walls of the lava flow. There were no significant effects, according to a research paper on the topic published in the Bulletin of Volcanology.
An aerial view of the Mauna Loa eruption in The lava flow was bombed in an effort to divert it. Three days after the bombing, the spatter cone around the main lava vent partially collapsed by natural processes and caused the main lava flow to cease movement, the paper's authors said. There are several challenges in stopping lava flow, according to Andrews of the Smithsonian.
For starters, lava is dense. There's no point in putting up Jersey walls in front of a flow, he said, because the lava will "bulldoze them out of the way. Some have thought to spray the lava flow with water, hoping it will cool and freeze the front of the flow.
But the extreme heat behind the crust, which is still molten, will allow the flow to continue. Andrews said that flows can be diverted, but then there's the dilemma of where the diverted lava goes.
The aftermath. The struggle, she said, is that people choose to live in and visit areas where lava flows. That property now appears to be covered in fresh lava, according to government maps. Because there's little authorities can do, they instead focus on evacuation preparedness and public awareness of the danger. At a community meeting Monday night, Gov. David Ige and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim said residents must understand that the danger from the lava and toxic gases is very real and may continue indefinitely.
The flow that erupted inside Leilani Estates has destroyed at least 35 structures, including 26 homes, authorities said. Emotions have been running high as frustrated evacuees struggle to retain a sense of normalcy in the community they call home even if they're unable to return to their houses. Their frustration is evident, although they place no blame on authorities for being unable to stop the flows that erupted from 12 vents beneath their neighborhood.
At Monday night's community meeting, Kim pleaded with residents for patience. Authorities are allowing evacuees daily access to their homes in the Leilani Estates area as long as they remain only briefly and heed any new evacuation warnings. The U. Army dropped 20 pound bombs on the lava flow that December morning to divert the molten rock from reaching the town of Hilo.
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