Over 1,700 Evacuated After Hawaii Volcano Erupts

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted late Thursday, spewing lava and steam into a residential neighborhood, prompting a local state of emergency and the mandatory evacuation of 1,700 local residents. Local news reports showed lava shooting up into the sky from a crack in a road in Leilani Estates, a community near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. The eruption came after more than 250 small earthquakes shook the Puna district of the Big Island this week. Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency tweeted: “Fire Dept detects extremely high levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide gas in [evacuation] area. Mandatory evacuation Leilani Estates/Lanipuna Gardens.” Gov. David Ige signed an emergency proclamation in the wake of the eruption.