01-19-2009, 01:25 PM
The 200 or so houses in Kalapana destroyed by lava in the 1990's were pretty much the homes that were insured. Since the insurance was for fire (as John pointed out) the homeowners had no choice but to watch their homes burn. I know some people (featured teary eyed on a famous video) who even managed to increase their $$$ coverage at the last minute.
There were lots of folks without insurance who moved their houses. The house that our local physician's assistant owns was just being finished on an oceanfront lot near the surf spot known as "smashface". The owner at the time had the house cut into three pieces, braced up, loaded onto lowboy trailers and moved a couple of miles up the hill for reassembly. The garage, being on a slab, was left in place. Ironically, the lava stopped before the house would have been lost.
Sometimes utility crews would have to disconnect lines, and sometimes people would walk ahead of the trucks with long poles lifting phone lines. It wasn't unusual at the time to see a house slowely moving up highway 130 in the wee hours.
I think the cost of moving a house started at about ten grand at the time. I helped several people move, and working in the landscape nursery industry at the time, helped move palms and other valuable flora as well. FEMA worked with people to buy new lots.
When you enter Leilani Estates from the top, the first three houses on the left have all been moved there. Two plantation renovations and one lava refugee.
If you're worried about lava encroachment, it's best to build post & beam, and modular. If your house is on a slab, it's toast.
There were lots of folks without insurance who moved their houses. The house that our local physician's assistant owns was just being finished on an oceanfront lot near the surf spot known as "smashface". The owner at the time had the house cut into three pieces, braced up, loaded onto lowboy trailers and moved a couple of miles up the hill for reassembly. The garage, being on a slab, was left in place. Ironically, the lava stopped before the house would have been lost.
Sometimes utility crews would have to disconnect lines, and sometimes people would walk ahead of the trucks with long poles lifting phone lines. It wasn't unusual at the time to see a house slowely moving up highway 130 in the wee hours.
I think the cost of moving a house started at about ten grand at the time. I helped several people move, and working in the landscape nursery industry at the time, helped move palms and other valuable flora as well. FEMA worked with people to buy new lots.
When you enter Leilani Estates from the top, the first three houses on the left have all been moved there. Two plantation renovations and one lava refugee.
If you're worried about lava encroachment, it's best to build post & beam, and modular. If your house is on a slab, it's toast.