HONOLULU, May 30 (Reuters) - Molten rock from several lava-spewing fissures opened by Kilauea Volcano crept toward clusters of homes and vacation rentals on the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island on Wednesday, as authorities ushered residents from the area as a precaution.
On Tuesday, a lava stream crossed a larger east-west route, Highway 132, as it advanced toward Kapoho. A separate flow of red-hot molten rock was headed in the direction of the Vacationland Hawaii community to the south.
Civil defense officials also cited the problem of widespread communication outages in the area due to downed power and phone lines, reinforcing the decision to proceed with evacuation plans immediately rather than wait for a potential emergency.
Residents of the area, part of the Island of Hawaii’s Puna district, were urged to stay tuned to local radio stations for further updates.
The numbers of people and homes affected by the evacuation were not immediately known. They join some 2,000 residents displaced due to lava flows and toxic sulfur dioxide gas emissions at the outset of the eruption nearly four weeks ago farther west, in and around the Leilani Estates community.