Meeting Tonight - Civil Defense

[bluesboy]

Don't confuse lava supply rate with lava advance rate. The supply rate is what you are referring to, roughly being the average for Kilauea, and the Puu Oo eruption over the last 30 years. The advance rate is how far a flow will travel, given a supply rate and local topography. Supply rate is a volume per day. Advance rate is a distance per day.

[bluesboy]

And for the lava junkies out there - keep your eyes on Halemaumau. It is known to be generally related to the amount of lava coming out of Puu Oo. If the summit starts to deflate, then the supply rate to Puu Oo will likely be diminished. This relationship has been known to affect ocean entries and lava tubes that supply them. Occasionally when the volcano is deflating, lava tubes empty of lava, and can collapse, causing the lava, when it resumes, to not reoccupy the tube system. That's why ocean entries were always changing when the flow was coming out of the south side of Puu Oo and flowing down to the ocean past kalapana.

[DanielP]

quote:

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Originally posted by james weatherford

quote:

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Originally posted by DanielP

If the flows continue in the future in this direction, then wouldn't one assume that the connection between Pahoa area and Hilo be severed?

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Absolutely.
At this point, IMO, it is a matter of 'when', not 'if', the flow crosses Hwy 130.
Among the useful information at the Pahoa meeting last evening was about the rate of flow. It is average or a little above for Kilauea system generally and Pu`u O`o over the past 31 years in particular. No slow down in sight.
After Hwy 130, at its current rate (~0.25 mi/day), it is (what?) about 6 to 10 miles more to the ocean, depending on exact route -- ~25 to 30 days.

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If that is the case, then isn't working on RR Av. and Beach rd. a bit mmmm. futile?

[Obie]

It would give people a while to move out!

[james weatherford]

understood, Bluesboy, about the different rates.

point is: no flow, no advance.

get flow.

As for RR and Beach, yes, their usefulness would be short-lived.
Thus the difference in something that is driven only one way on only one day, and something more that would soon be lost anyway.