Lava destroys hundreds of homes overnight in Hawaii

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

HONOLULU (AP) — Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight, a county spokeswoman said Tuesday. The destruction is the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month.

No injuries were reported in the area, which had previously been evacuated.

"We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night," said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County.

A morning overflight confirmed that lava completely filled Kapoho Bay, inundated most of Vacationland and covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Read more: http://magicvalley.com/news/national/lava-destroys-hundreds-of-homes-overnight-in-hawaii/article_c173bcd3-dddf-5c9b-8857-ac615d18695b.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest

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This satellite image provided by Digital Globe captured June 3, 2018, shows advancing lava flows on Hawaii as they approach Kapoho Bay and the Vacationland residential neighborhood. (Satellite Image ©2018 DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company via AP)

[uppityperson]

1. USGS volcanoes twitter link...

https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes

[Liberty Belle]

2. It also destroyed a large section of Chain of Craters Road on the south shore of the island.

So sad; I've been there twice; heartbreaking to see so much destruction but also the power of nature is astonishing.

[Plucketeer]

3. We're just along for the ride.

There was a time I endeavored to live in Hawaii. I'm glad I got over it. I hope those affected were able to save heirlooms and legal papers important to them.

[Princess Turandot]

4. As of today, Madame Pele apparently decided that Hawaii had too many bays...

So she took out Kapoho Bay itself (still visible in the mid-right of the 6/3 DG sat image) completely:



USGS

[joshcryer]

5. I wish they would release a scale with an image like this. This is a mile across.

I opened up Google Earth and put a ruler to it:



Note that this whole area is surrounded by lava fields (the Google Earth image is from 2016). Yes it's sad these people lost their houses, but they were living in a lava flow zone. They had to have known the consequences.

My mom calls me every day to talk about these lava flows and how all of Hawaii is in trouble but really it's a few miles at best of lava flows, in a heavy lava flow area.

[Hekate]

6. Some sense of scale would be responsible reporting. The Big Isle is 4,000+ square miles...

The impacted area is (as of last week anyway) 3+ square miles. Reporters who fail to mention this (like all of the ones on tv) are going for sensationalism.

I am very sorry to hear how many more homes were destroyed (because it is really terrible to lose so much), but a couple of interviews from very early on were indicative. One woman who lost her home blamed others for allowing homesites in the zone; but another woman who had recently moved there from one of the outer islands with her 4 kids said that while she was sorry to lose their belongings, she understood that Madame Pele had her own ways, and there was nothing we could do about it but get out of the way. I could not help speculating that the first woman was from the Mainland. Possibly unfair of me, but locals know.

[joshcryer]

8. I'm absoultely disgusted with how the media and fake sites are handling it.

My mom's Facebook page looks like the apocalypse, the end times, etc. She has open a YouTube feed of one of the more active lava spouts. I can't imagine how she feels without someone sitting down and explaining the scale of things. I would encourage others to open up Google Earth or even Google Maps with satellite view and look at these lava flow areas.

It is definitely unfortunate for the people living there and I mean them no ill will but man, the way this thing is reported is a disgrace.

[Kittycow]

12. Sounds like Fissure #8...

It's a sight to behold, that's for sure.

I've been following a local on YouTube who walks around every day showing #8, hardened lava flows in Lelani Estates, explains the maps,etc. It keeps it in perspective .

But good lord, the comments are riddled accepting Jesus, Lake of Fire, End Times, etc.

I thought Hawaii was a goner too until I started digging around. Like welp, nice to know ya! judging from the mainstream media.

The maps are pretty crucial to understanding what's happening.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

17. It's "sensationalism" when it's someone else's house that burns.

If it's your house (or mine), it's a disaster.

Unless the insurance policy is good.

[Hekate]

21. When everyone on DU who posts about it for the first several weeks thinks the entire island ...

...is at risk, that's the result of sensationalistic reporting that leaves out important details. Likewise when those who have made travel plans to O'ahu think it threatens that island.

It is most definitely a disaster for those in the immediate vicinity, and I'm sorry if anyone thought I meant otherwise.

[KWR65]

7. The hard part is that these people can't rebuild where the house was.

I hope they have insurance that will pay off the mortgage or they will have to file bankruptcy. I don't know if regular home owners insurance would cover a lava flow destroying a home.

[TexasTowelie]

9. I suspect that there are riders in their homeowners policies

that allow for an extra premium to be charged since they are in a high-risk area. It's doubtful that any mortgage company or bank would finance a loan for a home in the area without the insurance riders.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Good summary and videos here...

Estimated Hundreds of Homes Destroyed by Lava
Posted: Jun 06, 2018 12:26 AM EDT
Updated: Jun 06, 2018 12:26 AM EDT

Link: http://www.kitv.com/story/38357900/estimated-hundreds-of-homes-destroyed-by-lava
(snip)

Hundreds of homes tucked away on this pristine corner of the coastline are no more, while Kapoho Bay and tidepools are now filled with lava.

"The census puts Kapoho Beach lots at 350 and Vacationland at about 150." "So it's going to be big numbers." Hawaii County Civil Defense says 80-percent of those homes are vacation rentals.

Sounds like big land developers will take much of the loss.

Thanks for the OP, TexasTowelie.....

[Kittycow]

11. Are you an insurance actuary or something like that?Texas Towelie?

I think you may have mentioned something along those lines once unless I have you mixed up with someone else.

I was curious about the insurance issues myself and googled a bit the other day. One article said that the mayor claimed people's losses would be claimed under ordinary fire coverage. One State Farm site specifically addressed losses due to lava flow and said that houses but no out buildings and such would be covered. Another article suggested that if the homes weren't covered the insurance companies would pay out anyway to avoid a public backlash.

I finally read something that may have been written by a local that claimed the area was divided into lava risk zones 1-9 and that you couldn't get any coverage in zones 1&2. (If I'm remembering correctly.)

I thought it was a pretty interesting subject.

[TexasTowelie]

13. Good memory and you're pretty close.

I worked at the Department of Insurance and a private insurance company as a statistical analyst so I have a decent grasp of insurance starting from developing computer systems and underwriting on the front end through claims and reinsurance on the back end. I also worked with plenty of actuaries and actuarial candidates in my career.

I suspect that you are correct about the area being divided into lava risk zones and the unavailability of coverage in the highest risk zones. However, I don't believe that any insurance company is going to offer to pay on any property that is not covered.

[Kittycow]

14. A decent grasp of insurance indeed!

My two favorite subjects right now are how agricultural tariffs are affecting farmers and insurance issues relating to the volcano in Hawaii.

I'm leaving the Russian issues to everyone else as far as dissection goes.

Thanks for the reply

[marlakay]

15. A friends friend who owns home

In Lelani estates, told my friend she is Zone 2, had to pay cash for house in that zone they don’t do mortgages. She didn’t know if they insured or not she thought not.

Said her friend now on mainland with family and lost everything. She was willing to do it because of the cheap price.

I couldn’t sleep at night just thinking about it being unsafe.

[TexasTowelie]

16. I'm not so much into real estate,

but I can understand where the market would develop that the properties in the lava zones would come at a discount and I suspect that the value of those homes would also be less than elsewhere on the islands. Some people decide that it is worth the risk and play against the odds. I suppose that if there was someone with extremely high value property that they could find insurance, but at a significant premium.

To put things in proper perspective if someone buys property that is at risk every 20 years, then the insurance premiums will need to be at more 5% of the value of the property in order to break even over time. For the insurance company they will make some nominal investment income on the property, but they will also have the administrative costs associated with policy. Since insurance companies want to do better than "break even" and also know that they might have to pay a claim earlier than 20 years after they gain a new policyholder, I would expect that they are charging 7%-8% of the value of the property to hedge their risk.

[Cha]

18. Oh dear! I remember when the Volcano first

went off.. there were about 26 homes destroyed. Now there's hundreds. this is so sad for the people who have lost their homes forever.

At least they have their lives to start over.

Mahalo, TexasT

[riversedge]

19. whow.

[csziggy]

20. The bay in the OP photo no longer exists - it filled with lava on June 5!

[Baclava]

22. Gone

Just a few days ago Kapoho Bay was a beautiful vacation destination, filled with vacation homes, beautiful beaches and clear water. Today, the bay is filled with a lava field that extends 0.8 miles from the old bay, completely reshaping the coastline of Hawaii.