Puna Lava Migration Impacts Housing

[pahoated]

This is going to be a growing issue for the county, affordable housing, doubt the state will do much beyond giving it lip service. There are much bigger affordable housing issues on Oahu. Abercrombie authorized the Riverside project almost 2 years ago and it is only now being started. Some people are fixated on saying everything will be just fine but thick, stationary vog clouds are going to force a large proportion to move elsewhere. These are interesting times, being in the front row of yet another human migration forced by a volcano. This is where the big increase in south Puna population the past few years hits the fan. There are no affordable rentals around Hilotown now, there are still several on Kona side. Some people are going that route. The old advice that used to be standard here, "rent first while looking" changes when there are no rentals. Now the rental rate inflation begins.

"Mahalo nui Pele, 'ae noho ia moku 'aina" - kakahiaka oli