14 votes

Entire Hawaii suburb vanishes as lava gushes in

6 comments

  1. [2]
    Defluo
    Link
    I live on the big island, it took out some of the most beautiful coral reefs here (Kapoho tidepools). I think everybody here has been to those reefs at least once. I used to bring friends who came...

    I live on the big island, it took out some of the most beautiful coral reefs here (Kapoho tidepools). I think everybody here has been to those reefs at least once. I used to bring friends who came to visit. We used to worry about coral bleaching from the chemicals in sunscreen.

    5 votes
    1. Petril
      Link Parent
      Wow. I don't know what to say. Obviously it's still important to care about environmental issues, but I'm sure it all feels so hollow now. I'm sorry for their loss, they sounded beautiful. I keep...

      We used to worry about coral bleaching from the chemicals in sunscreen.

      Wow. I don't know what to say. Obviously it's still important to care about environmental issues, but I'm sure it all feels so hollow now. I'm sorry for their loss, they sounded beautiful.

      I keep going back and forth between: "This is how nature works; more beauty will be created from this blank slate" and "Mother Nature is being a dick! I want the beauty now!"

      2 votes
  2. FlipMeTheBird
    Link
    I've been to the Kapoho area many times. Heart is breaking for those who call it home. This new shoreline will become beautiful again, but not in our lifetimes.

    I've been to the Kapoho area many times. Heart is breaking for those who call it home. This new shoreline will become beautiful again, but not in our lifetimes.

    1 vote
  3. Mechangel
    Link
    I've been thinking a lot about the people who are losing their homes and trying to imagine what that must be like. I think that when many people envision losing their home to a natural disaster,...

    I've been thinking a lot about the people who are losing their homes and trying to imagine what that must be like. I think that when many people envision losing their home to a natural disaster, they picture something fast, powerful and devastating, like a tornado, or an eruption from a stratovolcano, or an earthquake. Shield volcanoes just kind of blurp out molten rock--often slow-moving molten rock. We don't think of them as being particularly disastrous, but when they start erupting, they can keep it up for a long time. If a flow starts moving toward your house, you have time enough to evacuate and take some belongings with you, but it's not like you're going to be able to sell your home and get anything back on your investment, and when the lava does come, even the land you built it on is gone (or at least rendered unusable.) I really feel for the people in these neighborhoods who know what's coming, but can't really do much other than leave and watch their homes being destroyed on the news.

  4. KingShmiley
    Link
    What sort of long lasting effects does lava flow have on soil? Will it prevent plant life from growing back for a long period of time?

    What sort of long lasting effects does lava flow have on soil? Will it prevent plant life from growing back for a long period of time?

  5. Silbern
    Link
    Reasons like this make me glad I live on O'ahu. For anyone who wants to donate to help, there's a gofund me here or there's a red cross donation site somewhere.

    Reasons like this make me glad I live on O'ahu. For anyone who wants to donate to help, there's a gofund me here or there's a red cross donation site somewhere.