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Volcano lava flow incinerates home in Hawaii

November 11, 2014

Lava flowing from Kilauea's 31-year eruption has destroyed a house on Hawaii for the first time since 2012. The slowly moving molten rock from possibly the world's most active volcano poses no further threat for now.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Dl1n
Lava-Strom auf Hawaii setzt Haus in Brand
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

A slow-moving blob of lava from an erupting volcano on the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island, incinerated a house on Monday, marking the first home to be destroyed in the slow stream of 1,000-degree Celsius (about 1,800 Fahrenheit) molten rock.

The lava has slowly been moving towards the village of Pahoa for weeks. Officials said the house destroyed on Monday had already been evacuated and that no other houses were in danger of being destroyed, as the perimeter of the main flow had come to a standstill. The village has around 800 residents.

The lava has been slowly spreading from the 1,200-meter-high (4,000-foot) Kilauea Volcano since the end of June. It has since traveled 20 kilometers (12.5 miles). Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes; the current eruption began in 1983.

sb/lw (Reuters, dpa)