The Kilauea volcano, whose lava flow caused damage to a geothermal power plant on the island of Hawaii, offered a moment of respite on Monday to the besieged area for 25 days now.
A spokeswoman for the island of Hawaii said the lava had stopped flowing to the power plant.
Despite this moment of calm, new explosions have projected a plume of ash to about 4000 meters in the sky, according to the authorities.
And a new crack in the crater spits a meter of lava per second, say geologists.
This is spreading lava flows in the county of Leilani Estates, located in the eastern corner of the island of Hawaii, an area that has been evacuated.
Carolyn Parcheta, a geologist with the United States Institute of Geological Survey (USGS), argues that lava spreads over a larger area and, as a result, moves more slowly.
A geothermal power plant threatened
On Saturday, a lava flow submerged the heads of two wells at the 38-megawatt Puna Geothermal Venture geothermal facility, which produces 25 percent of the electricity consumed on the island of Hawaii.
The plant operator, a company based in Israel, said it was unable to assess the extent of the damage.
Residents, they fear that the wells are explosive.
For their part, the authorities indicated that there was no danger.
But this is an unprecedented situation, since it is the first time in the world that lava covers a geothermal power plant.
The plant was forced to put its activities on the back burner.
230,000 liters of flammable liquid were removed from the facilities, while the wells that power the steam plant were shut down.
At least 82 houses were destroyed in the southeast of the island of Hawaii.
About 2,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes since the Kilauea volcano erupted on May 3.
Nearly 900 hectares of land were burned.
The island of Hawaii, whose major part of the economy is based on tourism, could be deprived of significant revenue due to the eruption of Kilauea.
Molly Rielly was born and raised in Cleveland. As a journalist, Molly has contributed to many online publications including The Street and The Inquir. In regards to academics, Molly earned a degree in business from St. John’s University. Molly covers economy stories here at Cleveland Post Gazette.
