Kilauea’s Eruption Echoes of Pompeii

The past two weeks I happened to be vacationing on Oahu and Maui and while no VOG or ash or tremors reached those islands, I was able to watch the volcanic activity develop on the local news. On May 3^rd the local stations showed a few cracks crossing roads on the island of Hawaii, primarily in the Leilani Estates subdivision. This was just an item of interest, nothing really. The cracks were only about an inch wide. Besides only the pavement split; land masses seemed intact. Tremors were frequent, but mild.

By May 4^th steam was rising from the fissures. The widths were increasing to several inches and new fissures were sprouting up all over the Leillani Estates area. By the morning of May 5^th Lava was spouting out of the cracks and piling up on the roads several feet high. More new fissures occurred. Before we left on the 12^th over 30 fissures erupting lava and clouds of sulfur dioxide had formed. Twenty-six homes were destroyed and lava was covering over 100 acres.

The scary part is yet to come. There is a large volcanic caldera on Hawaii filling with molten lava. It may retain the lava or overflow and let it run into the sea. However, a third option is that as the caldera fills it will also push lava down into the bedrock. If lava reaches rock saturated with water, an explosion like a small atomic bomb will occur, sending rocks weighing 12 tons and the size of trucks across the island.

I have often wondered how Romans and Sicilians continuously rebuilt homes on Etna and Vesuvius. A resident of Leilani Estates was being interviewed and said, “I just never thought it would really happen in our lifetime.” I laughed or maybe was caught aghast and agape. Kilauea’s last major eruption was only 300 years ago, a grain of sand in geologic time. Not only that, but Kilauea has been active since 1983. Mauna Loa, another volcano, had a major eruption in 1984. Then the resident went on, “I don’t think anyone of us thought this could happen.” Suddenly some sense of understanding struck me. This is just part of our basic human nature: to put off and ignore potential dire consequences. Its why we smoke, don’t see doctors, build in flood plains, or muddy hillsides and live on tropical islands ravaged by hurricanes over and over again. The earth can be a scary place. Perhaps being able to displace consequences is a way to quell fear and get a good night’s sleep. Why else would we have evolved with this trait?

On that note, I have included a link to my personal blog “Post Cards From the Past” that featured the translation of Pliny the Younger’s description of Vesuvius erupting from the writings of Tacitus. Its very short but very moving and I think you might find it relevant to the events on Hawaii.

 https://whrusseth.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-post-card-from-pompeii.html?m=1