http://fox40.com/2018/05/30/hawaiis...ation-orders-or-youre-on-your-own-mayor-says/ This Volcano has been erupting for about a month now and I like to watch the News about it because the lava glowing at night is really beautiful to me...even though it is also very destructive. I just can't understand though why people are not using any common sense and evacuating when told to do so.
There are always some people that won't leave their homes and end up dying. Very sad. It happens in hurricanes, floods, etc...but this volcano is even scarier.
I think it is just that folks don't want to abandon their lives and dreams. We were evacuated in advance of a wildfire a few years ago. We had prepared in advance, but when we left, we thought we had lost our house and would never see it again. It is very sad to do that.
To put material things above your own life and possibly your family's just does not make sense to me and never will. The fact that this volcano has been active for almost a month and the lava route, etc, has been closely followed gave many of these people time to pack up and move the things that were most important to them. It seems like some of them must just be in denial even right up to the time the lava flows into their yards, etc.
It's hard to leave personal items that can't be replaced...I think people that don't leave think or hope that they'll be spared...at least I think that's the mindset. It's different if you have time to prepare and at least can pack up your cherished momentos. Not worth losing your life for anything but it's still very hard.
The only thing that can't be replaced to me is my loved ones. Starting all over again isn't easy I know that from experience...but staying and dying is not an option in my opinion.
It isn't for me either. I could leave here and not look back even without a catastrophe...well, I'd take my husband's ashes but I can understand the mindset....they don't think it will happen to them. They'll be okay. At least with hurricanes I think that's how some feel because they've done it before.
We gathered up the documents and old photos before we were evacuated, but we new the fire was going crazy, and my wife always had a "Go Bag" set up for disasters (earthquakes are always a threat here). We evacuated our livestock to one friendly family's place (they had pasture and shelter) and the dog team went to another friend's homestead. One teenaged son and daughter went with the dogs, my wife, other teenaged daughter, 5-year old son, and 4-month old baby went with the livestock. My other teenaged son and I stayed at the house to try to defend it from the flames. We have a lake behind the house as a water source, and we kept sprinklers going on the roof for as long as we had power. I had a gas-powered pump on order but hadn't received it yet. We left the house when the flames were within about 300 yards of the house, and met the fire engines coming in our driveway as we were leaving. The firefighters saved our home , and, as we were friends with the local forester, he announced on the radio during a status report, that "Kennelwood is okay". We new our house had survived.
I feel very bad for these people. But it's true, the house isn't worth life. These people will likely not even be able to rebuild as there will be no land to rebuild on. These islands are volcanos I guess. I feel bad for people in any disaster. Fire is one of my worries and there is an area in my county I won't move to due to the fire danger.
With hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, sink holes, fires, etc. I don't think anyone can really be sure they are safe where they live...but some people do live in areas where they have a higher probability of losing their homes to a disaster.
I saw a picture yesterday of a reporter standing on the recent lava flow. Does it cool down that quickly? It's supposed to be 2000 degrees and he said there was a house underneath it. I wonder if they will be able to rebuild after the flow stops and it cools down? If the residents refuse to leave, knowing that the flow will reach them, I think they should be left on their own.
I wondered the same thing, Shirley. I suspect he had insulated boots and didn't stand on the flow very long. His feet would have burned if he stood there long. I have also wondered why they can't "steer the flow with copious amounts of sea water pumped onto the lave. Maybe you would have to use some kind of robotic hose nozzle to avoid the superheated stean I think the houses that are being consumed are built on a lava flow, just an old one. Many people built there as it is the cheapest real estate in the state. The reason it is so cheap is now obvious. As far as I know, they still own the property beneath the lava.