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Hawaii volcano: Drone video shows emergency services evacuate home as lava approaches

'This is the hottest lava that we've seen in this eruption, even just a matter of 50 degrees centigrade makes a big difference in how quickly lava flows can move and how they behave once the magma exits the vent'

Lisa Collins
Thursday 31 May 2018 15:44 BST
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Hawaii volcano: Drone video shows emergency services evacuate home as lava approaches

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The moment that that an emergency flight crew evacuated a home shortly before it was engulfed in lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano was caught on camera.

The incident was captured by an unmanned aircraft system as they pulled the resident to safety.

The rescue came as the hottest and fastest-moving lava from Kilauea volcano's latest eruption spread across new parts of the Big Island, forcing officials to order evacuations in two coastal neighbourhoods over fears that the rapidly advancing flows could cut off dwindling escape routes.

Hawaii volcano: Aerial footage shows rivers of lava reaching the ocean

Overnight, the lava was moving fast enough to cover about six football fields an hour, according to US Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall.

About two dozen recent fissures in that area have created towering lava fountains and explosions throughout the eruption. The lava that is currently coming to the surface is the hottest and most fluid to date.

"This is the hottest lava that we've seen in this eruption, even just a matter of 50 degrees centigrade makes a big difference in how quickly lava flows can move and how they behave once the magma exits the vent," Ms Stovall said.

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