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If the lava crosses highway 130 there won't be any "forced" evacuation. There wasn't even a mandatory evacuation of Royal Gardens when it was virtually surrounded.
If Hwy 130 is breached, there will most likely be a road cut (dozed/graveled, not paved) between Kalapana and the the bottom of Chain of craters road. There is already a state right of way from the previous road, so no private property issues.
Hilo commuters will have a tough decision to make. I would probably stay in town and come home on weekends. Neighborhood trucks will probably make co-op supply runs. People will adapt and Puna Makai will be stronger and more self reliant as a result.
I assume PGV would still be able to provide power to the area(if it is on the side cut off).
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Netflix has Andrew Bourdains Unknown Places series and one is where he goes to the Congo. He visits Goma, what was once a city next to the border of Rwanda (yes, where Tutsi slaughtered Hutu's). There was an eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in 2012. Due to the civil war, gigantic refugee camps had nowhere to go but at the base of the volcano.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/64...ma_afp.jpg
There are large sections of the roads that are 12 feet higher than the base. What they did there was just keep driving, as Bourdain shows in his show.
http://users.skynet.be/technaphot/webgom...C00029.jpg
While the nature of Mount Nyiragongo is very different from Kilauea, the reaction to a flow covering Hwy 130 probably won't be that different. If the flow keeps flowing to the north east, people will just start driving around further and further east. While there is no road there, the terrain isn't much different from driving out to South Point, just have a lot of ground clearance, go slow and it helps to have 4-wheel drive. If the lava flow kept going to the ocean, then it will have cooled up the road and people will just drive over the hardened flow. Also, people will just start punching through on Beach road from Beaches to HPP.
If Puna is paradise on Earth, then Goma must certainly be hell on earth.
"We come in peace!" - First thing said by missionaries and extraterrestrials
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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quote: Originally posted by Punaperson
" avoid economic collapse of the County from the flow "
" I'm expecting a Massive Federal Bailout, myself "
While I don't underestimate in anyway the individual impact and hardship the lava crossing HWY 130 at Pahoa would cause, it would neither collapse the County economy , nor trigger a Federal bailout.
The economic contribution of lower Puna to the County/State is not in the same range as if Hualalai erupted and covered the Kona resort areas. Many take pride in being part of the underground economy. It will be a dent, especially with the agricultural contribution taking a major blow, but Puna always goes up and down. It's the tides.
The Feds are having their own economic woes, and with both Abercrombie and Obama in lame duck status, more energies are being directed to keep Pearl Harbor jobs than will be expended for a few thousand retirees, off the grid pioneers, and pot smoking hippies who all chose to live on the side of the most active volcano on the planet.
Again, I am absolutely aware of how this lava flow may/will affect individual lives - but please don't act as if this flow is an unforeseen catastrophe where some government entity will ride in and rescue you. Kapoho used to be a town - no more. Kalapana Gardens used to be an incredible subdivision where a community of people lived - no more. The Queen's Bath was the most wonderful water ever at the end of a long day. No more.
We are on the side of the most active volcano on the planet. If you have chosen to live with Pele, you have chosen the risk. How much homework you did before coming, how much Puna called you, and how much your real estate agent told you are all totally different questions.
Enjoy while you can.
Thank you for that...
I was really starting to get frustrated. When I was growing and something happened, you got with your neighbors and got things done. When Iniki damaged your homes, you and your friends took turns rebuilding your houses.
It just seems lately that all everyone does is complain and expect others to fix their problems for them. We no longer let people live with consequences of their decisions and bail them out when something goes wrong.
Nice to see some of the old school self reliance is still out there.
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Boy oh boy. Google Earth just "updated"their maps, and wouldn't you know the area that the flow is, and potential flow path is covered in clouds! Aarghhhh!!!
Community begins with Aloha
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Either Google Earth or Google maps (I can't remember which at this second) has a slider where you can look at the different images of an area over time. Not ideal, but you can get "past the clouds" so to speak.
Carol
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
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Thanks Carol. That option is on my laptop, but cannot seem to find it on my iPad as of yet. I find it odd that the only area that appears to be updated that I can see is the Puna area though, appears to be a "cut and paste" of cloud cover over the lava path area. Further searching may prove me wrong.
Community begins with Aloha
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Two useful things that could be done ahead of time
Making old government beach road drivable from hawaiian beaches to HPP
And pass enabling legislation for lava diversion
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Lava diversion just isn't going to happen. Too many liability and cultural concerns.
Unless Kilauea has concurrent ocean entries on both sides of the rift, there will always be egress. Inconvenient? Yes, for some; Welcome to the Volcano!
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Beach Road from Hawaiian Beaches to HPP would not require much work to make it drivable as a one lane road:
1) At Beach Road in Hawaiian Beaches about 1/4 mile of road base material should be spread, as right now it turns into a swamp whenever it rains.
2) For the next few miles there are a number of rough spots in the road only passable with a 4 wheel drive, they would need to be smoothed out. Also the branches from strawberry guava and other trees reach into the roadway.
3) The last 1.5 miles before it reaches Maku'u is not too bad, much of it is already wide enough for two cars to pass each other - - slowly.
To make it a two lane road all of the way from Hawaiian Beaches to HPP would take some work however.
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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quote: Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
quote: Originally posted by bananahead
IMO better to grade and cinder a temp road from Gov Road area of WaaWaa to say Kaloli in HPP or better yet all the way to somewhere near Shipman Beach/Mauna Loa MacNut factory area
A section of Beach Road has been blocked off between Maku'u & Paradise for about the last 20 years. Beach Road could be graded through to Maku'u, then route the traffic up Maku'u to the highway. There's an existing right turn merge lane already in place.
That area was blocked off by Civil Defense after a portion of it collapsed due to waves breaking into the lava tubes that end at the cliff. It was decided that the vibrations from vehicular traffic would cause more collapse, hence the boulders to keep the vehicles out of the area.
Morgan
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