Narrator: SUMMER 2018.
TWO VOLCANOES, TWO DRAMATIC ERUPTIONS.
KILAUEA IN HAWAII...
AND FUEGO, THE VOLCANO OF FIRE, IN GUATEMALA.
BOTH UNLEASH TERROR, BUT IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS.
[BOOM]
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE LEFT IN FEAR...
HOMELESS AND FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES.
THROUGH UNIQUE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS
WE EXPERIENCE EVENTS AS THEY HAPPEN.
Man: YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO LOSE EVERYTHING YOU OWN.
Narrator: TWO CAMERAMEN RISK THEIR LIVES
TO CAPTURE THE UNFOLDING DRAMA.
Man: YOU COULD SMELL THE DEATH.
AN EXPERIENCE THAT’LL REMAIN IN MY MIND FOREVER.
Man: STANDING THERE ON THE ROAD,
AND THEN YOU LOOK BEHIND, AND YOU JUST SEE THIS HUGE WALL.
Narrator: USING THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE,
WE ASK WHY THE ERUPTIONS ARE SO DIFFERENT
AND WHY ARE THEY SO HARD TO PREDICT?
THIS IS THE STORY OF TWO CATACLYSMIC EVENTS.
♪
TWO VOLCANOES: DUAL DESTRUCTION.
BIG ISLAND, HAWAII.
BLUE SKIES AND AMAZING BEACHES MAKE IT A TOURIST PARADISE.
A TOP ATTRACTION IS THE NEARBY VOLCANO OF KILAUEA,
DRAWING OVER 2 MILLION TOURISTS A YEAR.
KILAUEA IS JUST ONE OF THE ISLAND’S FIVE VOLCANOES--
BUT IT’S ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST ACTIVE,
ERUPTING NON-STOP SINCE 1983.
MAY 3, 2018.
HUNDREDS OF SMALL EARTHQUAKES STRIKE BIG ISLAND.
[RUMBLING]
CRACKS IN THE GROUND OPEN UP AND UNLEASH SCALDING JETS OF STEAM.
THEN, AT 10:31 A.M., A POWERFUL EARTHQUAKE--
THIS ONE RATING 5.0 ON THE RICHTER SCALE.
♪
Woman: YOU GUYS ALL RIGHT?
Narrator: MATT PAGE AND HIS FAMILY
CAN’T FEEL THE EARTHQUAKE.
THEY’RE TAKING A HELICOPTER RIDE
TO VIEW THE ISLAND’S MOST FAMOUS VOLCANO...
AND THEY’RE ABOUT TO GET MORE THAN THEY BARGAINED FOR.
SUDDENLY, A BOILING CLOUD OF STEAM AND ASH
BURSTS THOUSANDS OF FEET INTO THE AIR.
Matt Page: THE VOLCANO WAS STARTING TO BUBBLE UP,
AND THIS CLOUD JUST GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER
AND FILLS THE WHOLE SKY,
AND WE’RE JUST KIND OF LIKE,
"WOW, THIS IS COOL, THIS IS CRAZY.
YOU KNOW, I HAD NO IDEA IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS."
AND THEN AS THE PILOT FLEW AWAY, HE SAYS,
"I’VE BEEN DOING THIS SEVEN YEARS,
AND I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT."
I WAS KIND OF LIKE, "WELL, THEN, GET--
GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE. LIKE, LET’S GO!"
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: ASH RISING FROM THE VOLCANO LOOKS IMPRESSIVE.
BUT A GREATER MENACE LURKS BENEATH THE GROUND.
MILLIONS OF TONS OF MOLTEN MAGMA
IS FORCING ITS WAY THROUGH THE EARTH.
FORTUNATELY, HAWAII’S KILAUEA VOLCANO
IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST MONITORED.
SINCE APRIL, SCIENTISTS HAVE NOTICED THE LAVA LAKE DROPPING--
A SIGN THAT A SIGNIFICANT ERUPTION MIGHT OCCUR.
Jessica Johnson: WE COULD SEE THAT THE MAGMA
WAS WITHDRAWING FROM THOSE SITES.
THERE WAS GROUND DEFORMATION,
AND IT SHOWED THAT THOSE AREAS WERE DEFLATING.
AND OF COURSE THERE WERE THE EARTHQUAKES THAT WERE MADE
FROM THE MAGMA PUSHING ITS WAY THROUGH THE ROCK.
SO WE CAN TRACK THE EARTHQUAKES
AND WE COULD SEE THAT THE MAGMA
WAS HEADING DOWN TOWARDS THE EAST RIFT ZONE.
Narrator: THE VOLCANO THREATENS LARGE AREAS OF HOUSING
TO THE EAST OF KILAUEA, INCLUDING LEILANI ESTATES--
HOME TO OVER 1,500 RESIDENTS.
FEW OF THEM HAVE EVER WORRIED
ABOUT LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF A VOLCANO
UNTIL NOW.
LOCAL OFFICIALS DECLARE A STATE OF EMERGENCY.
THE SMELL OF SULFUR FILLS THE AIR,
AS SLOWLY, WITH AWESOME, UNSTOPPABLE POWER,
KILAUEA’S FURY EMERGES.
[GAS HISSING]
ON HEARING THE NEWS,
LOCAL CAMERAMAN DEMIAN BARRIOS HEADS FOR THE ACTION--
BUT HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT AWAITS HIM.
Demian Barrios: I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER THAT MOMENT
WHERE I FIRST FLEW THE DRONE UP AND I POINTED THE CAMERA DOWN,
AND WAS A LITTLE BIT DISORIENTED,
KIND OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE WERE.
THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT JUST LOOKED
LIKE A HUGE CRACK IN THE GROUND, AND IT WAS MOVING.
AND I REMEMBER LOOKING AT MY SON,
AND HE LOOKED AT ME, AND HE’S LIKE, "PAPA,"
HE’S LIKE, "IS THAT LAVA?"
AND IT TOOK ABOUT A MINUTE BEFORE IT REALLY SUNK IN.
LIKE, HOLY COW, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING, RIGHT?
Narrator: FROM ABOVE, FLAMING FISSURES OR VENTS
CAN BE SEEN BURNING A PATH THROUGH THE FOREST.
HUNDREDS OF HOMES ARE NOW AT RISK.
AND AS DAY 1 DRAWS TO A CLOSE,
HAWAII’S SLOW-MOTION DISASTER IS JUST BEGINNING.
BEFORE IT’S DONE, BIG ISLAND WILL BE CHANGED FOREVER.
WHILE THE ERUPTION IN HAWAII UNFOLDS,
8,000 KILOMETERS AWAY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
DATA IS FLOODING INTO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S
GLOBAL VOLCANISM PROGRAM.
HERE, SCIENTISTS AND DATA EXPERTS ARE ON CONSTANT ALERT
FOR ERUPTIONS ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET.
Ed Venzke: THE MISSION OF THE GLOBAL VOLCANISM PROGRAM
IS REALLY TO DOCUMENT ACTIVITY AT VOLCANOES
OVER THE PAST 10,000 YEARS.
WE KNOW FROM OUR RESEARCH
THAT THERE ARE ROUGHLY 20 VOLCANOES ERUPTING
AT ANY ONE MOMENT.
BY PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
USING CONSISTENT RULES OF THE DATABASE,
WE PROVIDE THIS CONTEXT FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR SCIENTISTS.
David Pyle: IT’S ONLY BY HAVING LONG-TERM DATA SETS,
WHERE PEOPLE COLLECT ROUTINE INFORMATION
ABOUT VOLCANO BEHAVIOR,
THAT WE CAN START TO UNDERSTAND
THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL VOLCANOES.
Narrator: SCIENTISTS ARE STILL PROCESSING DATA FROM KILAUEA,
WHEN EXACTLY ONE MONTH LATER
THEY RECEIVE NEWS OF ANOTHER MAJOR ERUPTION.
JUNE 3, 2018.
FOR THE PEOPLE OF GUATEMALA, IT’S A DAY LIKE ANY OTHER.
THE VOLCANO THAT TOWERS ABOVE THEM
IS JUST PART OF THE LANDSCAPE.
♪
KNOWN AS FUEGO, THE VOLCANO OF FIRE,
GUATEMALA’S MOST ACTIVE VOLCANO
SITS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO SEVERAL VILLAGES AND TOWNS.
[CHILD TALKING]
[ROOSTER CROWS]
IT’S EARLY MORNING.
NOTHING APPEARS OUT OF THE ORDINARY.
FUEGO’S MONITORING STATION HAS ONLY ONE SEISMOGRAPH.
IT SHOWS A RISE IN ACTIVITY,
BUT NOTHING TO INDICATE WHAT’S ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED.
Francisco José Toledo: EARLY IN THE MORNING
ON THAT DAY, JUNE 3rd,
BULLETINS STARTED COMING IN AS USUAL,
BUT NOT A WARNING THERE COULD BE A BIG EXPLOSION.
Narrator: 1:00 P.M.
[RUMBLING]
THERE’S A MASSIVE EXPLOSION.
[BOOM]
ASH AND ROCK BLAST HIGH INTO THE AIR.
YET STRANGELY, THERE’S NO PANIC.
PEOPLE HAVE WITNESSED FREQUENT ASH EXPLOSIONS
FOR THE LAST 16 YEARS.
[RUMBLING]
LOCALS BELIEVE ANY FALLOUT
WILL SPILL INTO VALLEYS LINING THE VOLCANO’S SLOPES.
BUT SHORTLY AFTER, DISASTER STRIKES--
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]
A DEADLY AVALANCHE BURSTS OVER THE HILLS.
[SIREN]
RESIDENTS FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES.
A BOILING CLOUD OF ASH, KNOWN AS PYROCLASTIC FLOW,
FLOWS OVER 300 KILOMETERS PER HOUR
AND CAN BE SUPERHEATED TO 1,000 DEGREES CELSIUS.
♪
THE SEARING ASH BURNS YOUR LUNGS.
DEATH COMES IN AN INSTANT.
Pyle: ONCE THE PYROCLASTIC FLOW
REACHES THE SHALLOWER OR THE FLATTER PARTS OF THE VOLCANO,
THE ASH CLOUD CAN THEN SPREAD OUT ACROSS THE COUNTRYSIDE.
THEY’RE IMPOSSIBLE TO ESCAPE FROM
AND IMPOSSIBLE TO OUTRUN.
Narrator: THE ERUPTION OF FUEGO, ITS LARGEST IN FOUR DECADES,
IS SO BIG IT CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE.
ASH REACHES AROUND 16 KILOMETERS IN THE AIR.
150 SQUARE KILOMETERS ARE BLANKETED
IN A SUFFOCATING LAYER.
THE FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVE AROUND TWO HOURS LATER.
SHOCKING SIGHTS GREET THEM.
LOCAL JOURNALIST DAVID MERCER GRABS HIS CAMERA
AND HEADS STRAIGHT TO THE DISASTER ZONE.
THESE ARE AMONG THE FIRST IMAGES SENT TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
David Mercer: IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY SURREAL SITUATION.
ALL OF THE SOUND WAS KIND OF MUFFLED
BY THIS THICK LAYER OF ASH THAT WAS COVERING EVERYTHING.
IT WAS MONOCHROME-- EVERYTHING WAS MONOCHROME.
SOME PLACES, YOU KNEW THAT THERE WAS A TWO-STORY HOUSE
AND YOU COULD JUST SEE THE VERY ROOFTOP.
SO YOU KNEW THAT THERE WAS A COUPLE OF METERS
OF THIS MATERIAL, OF THIS ASH AND LAVA AND MUD,
ALL SORT OF JOINED TOGETHER.
Narrator: LIKE A MODERN VERSION OF POMPEII,
THE LAST MOMENTS OF LIFE ARE FROZEN IN TIME.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Man, translated: RIGHT HERE MY MOTHER WAS BURIED.
MY ENTIRE FAMILY IS BURIED HERE.
RIGHT NOW HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CRY?
MY HEART IS COMPLETELY BROKEN.
EVERYBODY AROUND HERE WAS MY FAMILY...
EVERYBODY.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Man, translated: MY TWO LITTLE GRANDDAUGHTERS,
ONE 15-YEAR-OLD, ONE 8-YEAR-OLD.
OH, HOLY GOD, I’M LEFT WITH NOTHING.
I DON’T EVEN HAVE A CHANGE OF CLOTHES.
[WEEPING]
Mercer: GUATEMALA IS A VERY VERDANT COUNTRY, VERY GREEN.
EVERYTHING SORT OF RUSHES OUT AT YOU,
FULL OF LIFE AND COLOR.
AND IN THIS CASE THERE WAS NOTHING.
EVERYTHING WAS GRAY. EVERYTHING WAS ASHEN.
THIS THICK CARPET OF ASH AND ROCK AND MUD,
BUT COVERED WITH THIS ASH, SO EVERYTHING WAS GRAY.
AND HOT.
THE HEAT WAS INCREDIBLE.
YOU KNOW, WALKING ALONG THE ASH,
YOU COULD ONLY WALK IN PLACES
THAT HAD BEEN TRODDEN BEFORE BY OTHER PEOPLE
BECAUSE YOU RISK OTHERWISE FALLING
THROUGH THESE METERS-THICK ASH.
AND THE HEAT WAS JUST RISING UP THROUGH MY BOOTS.
I HAD A GOOD PAIR OF BOOTS ON.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ENDED UP GETTING BLISTERS, YOU KNOW, HEAT SORES,
ON THEIR FEET JUST BECAUSE OF THE INTENSITY OF THE HEAT.
AND THEN OF COURSE THERE’S DESTRUCTION ALL AROUND.
THERE’S WRECKED CARS, BURIED CARS,
HOUSES THAT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED.
SO PEOPLE CERTAINLY DIDN’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO GET OUT,
MAYBE A COUPLE OF MINUTES MAXIMUM.
AND THEN A LOT OF PEOPLE SIMPLY DIDN’T REALIZE
THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION,
AND THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD BE SAFER, ACTUALLY,
STAYING IN THEIR HOUSE,
SO VERY DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO ESCAPE FROM THIS.
THE SMELL WAS ALSO SOMETHING THAT YOU COULDN’T--
THAT YOU COULDN’T AVOID.
YOU COULD SMELL THE SULFUR FROM THE VOLCANO,
FROM THE VOLCANIC ASH AND THE LAVA.
YOU COULD FEEL THAT YOU WERE WALKING
OVER ALL OF THESE DEAD BODIES.
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AN EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL NEVER FORGET,
THAT’LL REMAIN IN MY MIND FOREVER.
News anchor: PARTS OF HAWAII ARE UNDER MANDATORY EVACUATION
AFTER ONE OF THE STATE’S MOST ACTIVE VOLCANOES ERUPTED.
Narrator: DAY 2 ON HAWAII.
BENEATH THE GROUND,
MILLIONS OF TONS OF MAGMA IS ON THE MOVE,
CREATING CRACKS KNOWN AS FISSURES.
Barrios: THE FISSURES INITIALLY STARTED OUT
AS VERY SMALL CRACKS,
SEE ALL THIS VOLCANIC GAS EMITTING OUT OF THE CRACKS,
AND THEN THE CRACKS WOULD KIND OF GET A LITTLE BIT BIGGER.
Steve Clapper: FIRE, YOU CAN SEE IT COMING.
IT DOESN’T POP RIGHT UP UNDER YOUR FEET.
YOU KNOW, THERE’S A CRACK IN THE GROUND.
WELL, I’VE SEEN CRACKS IN THE PAVEMENT BEFORE,
YOU KNOW, BUT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT THAT MEANT
THAT THERE’S A LAVA TUBE UNDERNEATH THERE.
Barrios: THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW THIS FOUNTAIN WOULD BUBBLE UP,
AND JUST LITERALLY JUST COMING OUT OF THE GROUND.
SURELY ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING, MOST DESTRUCTIVE
AND IMPRESSIVE THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: SUDDENLY TWO MORE VIOLENT EARTHQUAKES
SHAKE THE ISLAND.
THE FIRST RATES 5.4--
THE SECOND, A MASSIVE 6.9.
THE VOLCANO ERUPTS AGAIN WITH EVEN MORE FORCE.
BY DAY 3, EIGHT ERUPTIVE FISSURES
HAVE OPENED UP NEAR THE LEILANI ESTATES.
LAVA DESTROYS TWO HOUSES, AND THE NIGHTMARE HAS BEGUN.
[STEAM HISSING]
TOXIC SULFUR DIOXIDE POURS FROM THE GROUND,
CREATING A PHENOMENON CALLED VOG.
Tamsin Mather: VOG, WHICH IS A COMBINATION
OF THE WORDS VOLCANO AND FOG,
ARE THESE HAZY EVENTS THAT YOU GET ASSOCIATED
WITH THE VOLCANISM IN HAWAII.
SO YOU GET SULFUR DIOXIDE
COMING OFF THE FISSURE OR THE LAVA FLOW
AND RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
IT THEN REACTS AND CHANGES.
IT OXIDIZES INTO SULFATE
WHICH FORMS THESE TINY LITTLE PARTICLES,
AND THAT CAUSES A FOGGY APPEARANCE,
WHICH IS WHAT THEY CALL VOG IN HAWAII.
Narrator: PROLONGED EXPOSURE CAUSES HEADACHES AND NAUSEA.
AUTHORITIES PUT OUT A VOG WARNING.
News anchor: THE KILAUEA VOLCANO ON HAWAII’S BIG ISLAND
IS SHOWING NO SIGNS OF LETTING UP.
HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS HAVE FLED DUE TO THE ONGOING EARTHQUAKES,
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS,
AND DANGEROUS LEVELS OF TOXIC GAS IN THE AIR.
Narrator: EMERGENCY SERVICES STRUGGLE
TO EVACUATE THE WORST AFFECTED AREAS.
AND NO ONE CAN PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT.
[WHOOSHING]
IN GUATEMALA, THE FUEGO VOLCANO CONTINUES TO ERUPT,
AND THE BODY COUNT RISES.
THE AUTHORITIES INITIALLY REPORT A DEATH TOLL OF 65.
OTHERS BELIEVE MANY MORE HAVE PERISHED.
[SIREN]
AT FIRST LIGHT, THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS CONTINUES.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
BUT THE EXPLOSIONS KEEP COMING.
[RUMBLING]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]
PEOPLE SCRAMBLE FOR COVER,
AND RESCUE EFFORTS HAVE TO BE SUSPENDED.
[SIREN]
THE SCALE OF THE ERUPTION HAS CAUGHT EVERYONE BY SURPRISE,
AND THE DRAMA IS ONLY JUST STARTING.
[RUMBLING]
THERE’S GROWING HORROR IN HAWAII, TOO,
AS LAVA CONTINUES TO PUMP FROM THE GROUND.
THE ERUPTION IS ON TRACK
TO BECOME THE BIGGEST IN LIVING MEMORY.
♪
IN THE RESIDENTIAL AREA OF LEILANI ESTATES
IN THE RIFT ZONE TO THE EAST OF THE VOLCANO,
ANOTHER 24 HOMES ARE DESTROYED.
15 ACTIVE FISSURES ARE NOW PUMPING OUT
GROWING QUANTITIES OF BOILING LAVA.
[FIRE CRACKLING]
SINCE DAY ONE, LOCAL CAMERAMAN DEMIAN BARRIOS
HAS BEEN RISKING LIFE AND LIMB
TO DOCUMENT KILAUEA’S ERUPTION AS IT UNFOLDS.
Barrios: THE GROUND WOULD KIND OF SHAKE AROUND IT
AND BUBBLE UP, AND THEN AS THAT FOUNTAIN GREW
IT WOULD JUST BECOME THIS MASSIVE FOUNTAINING,
JUST LAVA COMING STRAIGHT OUT OF THE EARTH.
AND TO BE WALKING THROUGH THERE
AND SEEING THESE FISSURES OPEN UP AND TAKE PEOPLE’S HOMES,
I MEAN, IT WAS VERY IMPACTFUL, IT WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: WHILE THE ERUPTION OF KILAUEA GROWS,
BY DAY 7 IN GUATEMALA, ACTIVITY HAS DIED DOWN...
AND THE SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS IS OVER.
RESCUE CREWS NOW HAVE THE GRIM TASK
OF RECOVERING THE BODIES OF THE DEAD.
THE DEATH TOLL HAS NOW RISEN TO 99,
BUT HUNDREDS MORE REMAIN UNACCOUNTED FOR.
SO WHY WAS THE ERUPTION OF FUEGO SO DEADLY
WHEN IN HAWAII THERE’S BEEN NO LOSS OF LIFE?
THE ANSWERS LIE IN THE VERY DIFFERENT GEOLOGY
OF THE TWO VOLCANOES.
HAWAII IS WHAT’S KNOWN AS A SHIELD VOLCANO,
WHILE GUATEMALA IS A STRATOVOLCANO.
THEIR DIFFERENT SHAPES
ARE THE CLUE TO THEIR INNATE DIFFERENCES.
FUEGO LOOKS LIKE YOUR TYPICAL VOLCANO--
IT’S TALL, CONICAL, STEEP,
AND TOWERS OVER 3,600 METERS HIGH.
LIKE ALL STRATOVOLCANOES, FUEGO’S CONE IS COMPOSED
OF LAYER UPON LAYER OF HARDENED LAVA AND ASH,
BUILT UP FROM PREVIOUS ERUPTIONS.
THIS BUILDUP ACTS LIKE A BUNG,
BLOCKING THE ERUPTION AND BUILDING UP PRESSURE INSIDE,
UNTIL IT FINALLY GIVES WAY AND ERUPTS VIOLENTLY,
OUT OF ONE MAIN VENT.
Pyle: ONE OF THE DEADLIEST WAYS THAT A VOLCANO CAN ERUPT
IS IN A HOT AVALANCHE OF ROCK, ASH AND PUMICE,
AND THESE ARE OFTEN CALLED PYROCLASTIC FLOWS.
ESSENTIALLY, IT’S A HOT AVALANCHE OF BROKEN-UP MAGMA.
SO WHEN THE MAGMA HAS ERUPTED OUT OF THE VOLCANO,
IT’LL FORM SOMETIMES LARGE BLOCKS,
AND THEN THE WHOLE MASS THEN COLLAPSES
JUST LIKE A SNOW AVALANCHE,
EXCEPT IT’S AT A MUCH HIGHER TEMPERATURE.
IT WILL THEN RACE DOWN THE SIDE OF THE VOLCANO.
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: FUEGO HAS BEEN ACTIVE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS--
WITH MINIMAL THREAT TO HUMAN LIFE.
IN FACT, IT’S BEEN FREQUENTLY ERUPTING FOR THE LAST 16 YEARS.
SCIENTISTS NOW REALIZE IT WAS BUILDUP
FROM A CENTURY OF ERUPTIONS THAT MADE THE LATEST ONE SO DEADLY.
THE VALLEYS BELOW FUEGO WERE SIMPLY OVERFLOWING
WITH DEBRIS FROM PAST ERUPTIONS.
NORMALLY WHEN A PYROCLASTIC FLOW
HURTLED DOWN THE SLOPES ABOVE THE TOWN,
IT WOULD FLOW AROUND IT, FOLLOWING A BEND IN THE VALLEY.
THIS TIME, SO MUCH DEBRIS IS BLOCKING THE VALLEY
THAT THE PYROCLASTIC FLOW HITS IT, JUMPS OVER
AND HEADS STRAIGHT INTO TOWN.
Mather: WHEN THE VOLCANO WENT OFF IN GUATEMALA,
I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING.
AN EXPLOSION FROM THE VOLCANO WASN’T UNUSUAL,
BUT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A VERY MUCH LARGER EXPLOSION
THAN THEY WERE USED TO.
AND THEN THIS PYROCLASTIC FLOW
WOULD HAVE COME CHARGING DOWN THE VALLEY,
AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE CHANCE FOR THEM AT THAT STAGE
TO ESCAPE.
[PEOPLE SHOUTING]
Narrator: FUEGO SITS ON THE RING OF FIRE--
A LINE OF VOLCANOES THAT CIRCLES THE EDGE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.
THE EARTH’S CRUST IS COMPOSED OF TECTONIC PLATES--
MASSIVE SLABS OF ROCK.
VOLCANOES OCCUR WHERE THESE PLATES COLLIDE.
75% OF THE EARTH’S VOLCANOES ARE FOUND ON THE RING OF FIRE--
AROUND 450 IN TOTAL.
HAWAII IS DIFFERENT.
IT SITS ALONE IN THE CENTER OF THE PACIFIC,
ABOVE WHAT’S KNOWN AS A HOT SPOT,
WHERE A PLUME OF SUPERHEATED ROCK
RISES FROM THE MANTLE DEEP INSIDE THE EARTH.
THE RESULT IS A SHIELD VOLCANO.
KILAUEA IS FLATTER THAN FUEGO
AND ONLY AROUND 1,200 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
Mather: SO A SHIELD VOLCANO IS NAMED AFTER KIND OF THE IDEA
OF A SHIELD LYING ON THE LANDSCAPE.
SO IT’S A VERY BROAD FEATURE WITH A RELATIVELY LOW GRADIENT
COMING UP TO SOME SORT OF SUMMIT.
Narrator: WHILE A SHIELD VOLCANO CAN ERUPT FROM THE SUMMIT,
IT’S NOT UNCOMMON FOR MAGMA TO SEEK A DIFFERENT PATH,
ONE OF LEAST RESISTANCE.
BENEATH THE GROUND
IT CARVES OUT A LABYRINTH OF UNDERGROUND TUNNELS.
INSULATED FROM THE AIR, HOT MAGMA CAN POUR
ALONG THIS NATURAL PLUMBING SYSTEM FOR MILES,
BEFORE IT BURSTS THROUGH THE SURFACE.
Johnson: THERE WERE POCKETS OF MAGMA UNDER THE GROUND
DOWN IN THE LOWER EAST RIFT ZONE
THAT WERE LEFT OVER FROM THE ERUPTIONS IN THE ’50s AND ’60s,
AND SO WHEN THIS NEW MAGMA ARRIVED,
IT KIND OF PUSHED OUT THE OLD STUFF
BEFORE IT COULD GET TO THE SURFACE.
Narrator: THIS HALF-CENTURY-OLD MAGMA IS RELATIVELY COOL
AND COMPARATIVELY THICK AND VISCOUS.
YET ONCE FORCED OUT,
FRESHER, RUNNIER AND MORE EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL
FROM DEEP WITHIN THE VOLCANO TAKES ITS PLACE.
[RUMBLING]
BY DAY 9 IN HAWAII,
15 FISSURES ARE NOW THREATENING HOMES TO THE EAST OF KILAUEA.
IT’S A TERRIFYING TIME FOR LOCALS.
JACKLYNN RUGGIRELLO EVACUATES THE AREA
WHEN GAS VENTS APPEAR ON HER LAND.
Jacklynn Ruggirello: WE HAD A 6.9 EARTHQUAKE.
WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THAT 6.9 EARTHQUAKE,
A VERY LARGE CRACK STARTED DEVELOPING ON OUR PROPERTY,
AND THEN ALSO STEAM STARTED PUMPING OUT
OF THE WHOLE LOWER PART OF OUR PROPERTY.
Narrator: LOCAL RESIDENT BRUCE OMORI
MAKES A LIVING PHOTOGRAPHING HAWAII’S VOLCANOES.
YET EVEN HE WASN’T PREPARED FOR THE GROWING ACTIVITY THIS TIME.
Bruce Omori: EXPLOSIONS GOING OFF AND LAVA BOMBS,
YOU KNOW, FLYING IN THE AIR.
I MEAN, CHUNKS AS...
BIGGER THAN THIS DESK, YOU KNOW, FLYING,
AND FOR A WHILE WE COULD SEE THEM APPROACHING US,
YOU KNOW, BOOM!
Narrator: DESPITE THE DESTRUCTION
OF LAND AND PROPERTY,
TO DATE THERE’S BEEN NO LOSS OF LIFE IN HAWAII.
THE EXTENSIVE MONITORING OF KILAUEA
BY GEOLOGISTS OVER MANY YEARS
ENABLES AUTHORITIES TO WARN AND EVACUATE LOCALS
IN PLENTY OF TIME.
A VOLCANO OBSERVATORY WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE EARLY 1900s.
EVER SINCE, SCIENTISTS HAVE KEPT A DETAILED RECORD OF EVENTS,
INCLUDING THE SERIOUS ERUPTION OF 1924.
THIS DATA PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN SAVING LIVES.
Venzke: THE OBSERVATORY DID ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD JOB
OF TELLING PEOPLE
WHERE THE ERUPTIONS WERE GOING TO BREAK OUT.
THEY WERE FOLLOWING THE SMALL EARTHQUAKES
THAT TRACKED WHERE THE LAVA WAS UNDERGROUND.
IN A BROAD SENSE, THEY KNEW
WHERE THESE FISSURES WERE GOING TO FORM
AND WERE ABLE TO ADVISE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AND EVACUATE THE PEOPLE.
Matthew Watson: PREDICTING VOLCANOES
IS THE VOLCANOLOGIST’S HOLY GRAIL.
CERTAINLY WHAT WE CAN DO IS LOOK FOR SIGNALS
THAT SUGGEST THAT A VOLCANO MIGHT BE ABOUT TO ERUPT,
AND WE REALLY DO THAT IN THREE BROAD WAYS,
THE FIRST OF WHICH IS TO LOOK AT LITTLE EARTHQUAKES
THAT OCCUR BENEATH THE VOLCANO,
AND WE ALSO LOOK AT VOLCANIC GASES,
AND THEN THIRDLY WE LOOK FOR DEFORMATION,
SO WHETHER OR NOT THE VOLCANO IS EXPANDING OR CONTRACTING.
Narrator: BUT FOR AN EARLY WARNING SYSTEM TO BE EFFECTIVE,
SCIENTISTS NEED AN ARRAY OF MONITORING TOOLS.
AT FUEGO, ALL THEY HAVE IS ONE SIMPLE SEISMOGRAPH.
THIS TOLD THEM THE ERUPTION WAS LIKELY--
BUT NOT HOW SERIOUS IT WOULD BE.
AS A RESULT, WHEN THE PYROCLASTIC FLOW
HEADED FOR THE TOWN OF SAN MIGUEL LOS LOTES,
RESIDENTS HAD JUST MINUTES TO EVACUATE.
AND NOW, JUST AS SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS
ARE GETTING A GRIP ON THE SITUATION,
THE RAINY SEASON BRINGS A NEW THREAT--
DEADLY MUDSLIDES CALLED LAHARS.
IN GUATEMALA, IT’S NINE DAYS SINCE THE ERUPTION.
TORRENTIAL RAIN IS FALLING ON TONS OF LOOSE ASH.
RIVERS OF MUD ARE UNLEASHED.
RESCUE WORKERS EVACUATE IN FEAR OF THEIR LIVES.
Watson: IT RAINS A LOT IN THE TROPICS,
PARTICULARLY ON THE FLANKS OF FUEGO.
THE METEOROLOGY THERE
JUST BASICALLY MEANS IT’S A RAIN-MAKING MACHINE--
AND THE MATERIAL IS VERY LOOSE, IT’S VERY MOBILE,
SO EVERY TIME IT RAINS, WE GENERATE THESE HUGE MUDSLIDES.
Narrator: INFRASTRUCTURE IS DESTROYED;
BRIDGES SWEPT AWAY; VILLAGES FLATTENED.
IT’S AN UNFOLDING HUMANITARIAN DISASTER--
ONE THAT LOCAL JOURNALIST DAVID MERCER
HAS BEEN DOCUMENTING SINCE ERUPTIONS BEGAN.
Mercer: WELL, AFTER THIS FIRST ERUPTION
THERE WERE MORE ERUPTIONS AS WELL.
NOW THIS HAD A BIG EFFECT ON THE RESCUE OPERATIONS.
THERE WAS A LOT RAIN THAT WAS-- THAT WAS COMING IN AS WELL,
THAT WAS BRINGING DOWN, YOU KNOW,
HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BRING MUDSLIDES DOWN
ON TOP OF SOME OF THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
THE AFTERNOONS WERE BASICALLY NO-NOs.
THE RAIN USUALLY COMES IN THE AFTERNOON,
SO AT AROUND MIDDAY, EVERYBODY HAD TO LEAVE THE SITE.
THAT WAS WHETHER, YOU KNOW, WHETHER YOU WERE A FAMILY MEMBER
LOOKING FOR MISSING FAMILY,
WHETHER YOU WERE A REPORTER,
WHETHER YOU WERE A RESCUE WORKER.
EVERYBODY HAD TO LEAVE AROUND NOON.
SO THAT REALLY SLOWED DOWN OPERATIONS.
[SIREN]
Narrator: IN THE LAST CENTURY,
PYROCLASTIC FLOWS HAVE KILLED TENS OF THOUSANDS.
SO HAVE LAHARS--AND THESE RIVERS OF DESTRUCTION
CAN STRIKE MANY YEARS AFTER AN ERUPTION.
Mercer: THERE WAS ALSO MORE EVACUATIONS
AS, YOU KNOW, THE ERUPTIONS CONTINUED,
AND AS MORE RAIN FELL DOWN,
MORE COMMUNITIES WERE, WERE EVACUATED,
AND AS THE SCALE OF THE DISASTER STARTED TO BECOME CLEAR,
AS THE NUMBER OF DEAD AND MISSING CONTINUED TO GROW,
THEY WERE TAKING MORE PRECAUTIONS.
THE TEMPORARY SHELTERS
BECAME MORE AND MORE PACKED WITH PEOPLE.
Narrator: AS CONDITIONS ON THE MOUNTAIN DETERIORATE,
THE AUTHORITIES ARE LEFT WITH NO OPTION
BUT TO SUSPEND ALL SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS.
[HELICOPTER]
WHILE THE RESCUE OPERATION STOPS,
FAR ABOVE IN SPACE, NASA KEEPS A WATCHFUL EYE ON THE SITUATION.
SINCE FUEGO FIRST ERUPTED,
SATELLITES HAVE BEEN TAKING 400 IMAGES OF THE VOLCANO EVERY DAY.
THERMAL CAMERAS REVEAL THAT TEMPERATURES IN THE ASH-FIELDS
ARE STILL AROUND 6 DEGREES CELSIUS HIGHER
THAN THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY.
♪
THE SUBSURFACE REMAINS DANGEROUSLY HOT.
THIS LINGERING HEAT CAN GIVE VOLCANOLOGISTS
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF THE VOLCANO.
DISASTER RESPONSE MAY EVEN BE ABLE
TO USE THERMAL DATA LIKE THIS
TO AID IN FUTURE SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS,
SHOWING WHERE THE PYROCLASTIC FLOWS WERE CONCENTRATED
AND THEREFORE WHERE TO SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS.
Mather: WITH THINGS LIKE MORE AND MORE SATELLITE DATA,
WE’RE MOVING INTO AN ERA OF MORE GLOBAL...
GLOBAL DATABASES AND GLOBAL REPOSITORY,
AND I THINK THAT COULD BE VERY POWERFUL IN THE FUTURE.
[RUMBLING]
Narrator: 7,000 KILOMETERS TO THE WEST,
A NEW ERUPTION SENDS A PLUME OF ASH
OVER 3 KILOMETERS HIGH ABOVE HAWAII’S KILAUEA.
♪
FORTUNATELY, TRADE WINDS CARRY MOST OF THE ASH
HARMLESSLY OUT TO SEA.
YET THE SCALE OF THE PLUME IS A BIG CONCERN.
HAWAIIANS ARE USED TO SEEING THIS VOLCANO ON SIMMER--
IT HASN’T BEHAVED THIS VIOLENTLY
SINCE THE CATACLYSMIC ERUPTIONS OF 1924 AND 1790--
AN INDICATION THAT THINGS COULD BE
ABOUT TO TAKE A TURN FOR THE WORSE.
AND JUST ONE DAY LATER, EARTHQUAKES SHAKE THE REGION.
[RUMBLING]
Joe Laceby: YOU CAN REALLY FEEL THEM, EVEN THE SMALL ONES,
YOU CAN-- IF YOU DON’T FEEL THEM,
YOU’LL SEE SOMETHING IN THE HOUSE SHAKE,
JUST WIGGLE A LITTLE BIT,
BUT SOME OF THE LARGER ONES WILL ALMOST VIBRATE THE WINDOWS,
AND YOU CAN SEE THE TELEPHONE POLES OUTSIDE
AND THE TREES ALL SHAKING.
Narrator: WHILE ON HAWAII SMALL EARTHQUAKES ARE COMMON,
THIS TIME THEY HOLD A WORRYING SECRET,
ONE THAT SCIENTISTS CAN USE
TO PREDICT WHERE THE VOLCANO WILL ERUPT NEXT.
Matt Patrick: THERE’S A VERY CLEAR LINK
BETWEEN EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.
THE EARTHQUAKES BASICALLY REPRESENT
WHERE MAGMA IS INTRUDING THROUGH THE SIDE OF THE VOLCANO.
SO IF YOU HAVE MAGMA, LIKE A BLADE OF MAGMA UNDERGROUND
THAT’S KIND OF FORCING ITS WAY THROUGH THE GROUND.
Johnson: THE MAGMA IS PUSHING ITS WAY THROUGH THE ROCK
AND BREAKING IT TO MAKE A PATH.
AND WE CAN RECORD ALL OF THOSE LITTLE--
LITTLE EARTHQUAKES TO TRY AND TRACK WHERE THE MAGMA IS GOING.
ON TOP OF THE EARTHQUAKES, WE ALSO SAW THE GROUND CRACKS.
THE CRACKS STARTED FUMING, HAD GAS COMING OUT OF THEM,
SO THAT WAS--THAT WAS CLUES
THAT THE MAGMA WAS REALLY CLOSE TO THE SURFACE.
SO IT WAS--IT WAS A FORECAST
THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE AN ERUPTION THERE.
Narrator: MOST IN DANGER NOW IS LEILANI ESTATES,
HOME TO 1,500 PEOPLE.
21 FISSURES HAVE OPENED UP,
AND LARGE LAVA FLOWS ARE BEGINNING TO FORM.
[HISSING]
IN RESPONSE TO A RAISED THREAT TO HUMAN LIFE,
THE AUTHORITIES ORDER A MANDATORY EVACUATION
OF ALL HOUSES IN THE AREA.
MOST RESIDENTS LEAVE,
BUT UNCERTAINTY KEEPS SOME HANGING ON
IN THE HOPE OF SAVING THEIR HOMES.
Mike Arends: I LOOKED AROUND,
AND I SAID, "I’M NOT GOING TO EVACUATE YET--
I’M GOING, YOU KNOW, STICK IT OUT AND SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING."
WE’RE ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW,
TOMORROW WE COULD BE THE HOUSE GONE.
IT’S THAT KIND OF STRESS.
Don Waguespack: YOU SUCCUMB TO THE FACT
THAT YOU’RE PROBABLY GOING TO LOSE EVERYTHING YOU OWN,
AND THAT IN ITSELF IS TOUGH.
WE EVACUATED TWICE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
KIND OF SCARY TIMES, YOU KNOW, TO BE QUITE HONEST.
THIS IS IT FOR US.
Narrator: BUT THERE ARE NO SIGNS
KILAUEA IS CALMING DOWN JUST YET.
IF ANYTHING, IT’S GETTING MORE AND MORE ACTIVE.
OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS, A ROW OF 23 FISSURES OPENS UP.
Barrios: WE’D HEAR A RUMBLE,
AND THEN YOU COULD HEAR LIKE AN EXPLOSION,
AND WE’D LOOK UP, AND IT WOULD BE LIKE, "HUH,
THERE IT IS," RIGHT, AND YOU’D SEE THIS NEW PLUME COMING OUT.
Narrator: DESPITE THE RISK OF LAVA BOMBS,
DEMIAN BARRIOS IS STILL FILMING.
Barrios: THERE WAS ONE TIME WHERE MY INTUITION TOLD ME
THAT I SHOULD LEAVE.
THERE WAS THIS HUGE EXPLOSION,
AND I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO RAIN DOWN LAVA BOMBS.
AND SURE ENOUGH I LOOKED UP,
THERE WAS A COUPLE OF LARGE-SIZED LAVA BOMBS
THAT WERE COMING TOWARDS ME.
YOU KNOW, BIG ENOUGH TO DEFINITELY HAVE KILLED ME.
AND THAT WAS A MOMENT WHERE I REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW,
I NEEDED TO TREAD LIGHTLY.
Narrator: THE ERUPTION OF KILAUEA IS NOW ON TRACK
TO BE THE WORST ERUPTION IN A CENTURY.
17 DAYS SINCE FUEGO ERUPTED.
HUNDREDS OF HOUSES WERE DESTROYED IN THE INITIAL BLAST,
AND MANY MORE ARE CURRENTLY THREATENED BY MUDSLIDES
FOLLOWING THE HEAVY RAINS.
YET IT’S NOT JUST HOMES.
17,000 SMALL-SCALE FARMERS
HAVE HAD THEIR CROPS RUINED BY THE VOLCANO
AND STRUGGLE TO SAVE WHAT’S LEFT.
[SPEAKING SPANISH]
Rolando Zuleta, translated: THE CORN SHOULD BE GREEN,
IT SHOULD BE REALLY GREEN,
AND BY NOW IT SHOULD BE READY TO EAT!
BUT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE ERUPTION, THERE’S HARDLY ANY.
IT’S PRETTY HOPELESS.
IT’S POSSIBLE THAT WE WON’T BE ABLE TO HARVEST ANYTHING.
Narrator: 140 SQUARE KILOMETERS OF FARMLAND LIES IN RUINS.
LIVESTOCK LIE DEAD, CHOKED AND ROASTED BY THE SCORCHING ASH.
DESPITE GOVERNMENT AID,
GUATEMALA MUST NOW ADD HUNGER TO ITS GROWING LIST OF TROUBLES.
BACK IN HAWAII,
THE VOLCANIC FISSURES HAVE BECOME SO ACTIVE
THEY’VE CREATED MASSIVE RIVERS OF MOLTEN ROCK.
Venzke: SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT A RIVER, RIGHT,
WATER ALWAYS GOES DOWN THROUGH THE VALLEYS,
IT SEEKS TO ALWAYS GO DOWNHILL.
AND THAT’S THE SAME CASE FOR LAVA FLOWS.
Narrator: YET, UNLIKE WATER, THESE RIVERS OF DESTRUCTION
CAN BUST AND BURN THEIR WAY THROUGH ANY OBSTACLE.
17 DAYS AFTER KILAUEA FIRST ERUPTED,
LAVA FINALLY ENCOUNTERS THE PACIFIC.
THE ERUPTION IS ABOUT TO RESHAPE THE ISLAND.
19 DAYS AFTER THE ERUPTION OF KILAUEA,
LAVA IS POURING INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN--
WITH EXPLOSIVE RESULTS.
Mather: YOU’VE GOT VERY, VERY HOT LAVA
COMING INTO CONTACT WITH THE SEAWATER,
SO YOU GET FLASH BOILING OF THE SEAWATER.
YOU GET SOME, SOME CHEMISTRY GOING ON,
SO YOU GET THINGS LIKE HYDROCHLORIC ACID
BEING PRODUCED, WHICH IS PARTLY FROM THE CHEMICALS IN THE LAVA,
BUT ALSO FROM THE CHEMICALS THAT YOU HAVE IN SEAWATER.
Pyle: YOU GET A FOG OR A HAZE,
WHICH INCLUDE BOTH TINY, TINY PARTICLES OF VOLCANIC GLASS
AND ALSO DROPLETS OF ACID MATERIALS FROM THE SEAWATER.
Narrator: THIS TOXIC FOG, KNOWN AS LAZE,
FORCES THE COAST GUARD
TO DECLARE A SAFETY ZONE 300 METERS OUT.
BUT TOURIST BOATS DRAW EVER CLOSER,
OBLIVIOUS TO THE DANGER THAT THE WIND COULD CHANGE DIRECTION
AND SEND THE DEADLY FOG THEIR WAY.
AND THAT’S NOT THE ONLY PERIL.
WHEN LAVA HITS COLD WATER IT CAN EXPLODE INTO THE AIR,
SCATTERING CHUNKS OF SEARING ROCK CALLED "LAVA BOMBS."
Mather: A LAVA BOMB IS A CHUNK OF LAVA ABOUT THIS SORT OF SIZE,
AND IT’S OFTEN SORT OF DESCRIBED AS THE BOMB
WHEN IT’S BEEN THROWN OUT IN SOME WAY
FROM THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY.
♪
Narrator: INCREASING LAVA FLOWS ARE NOW THREATENING
EVACUATED HOMES IN THE NEARBY LEILANI ESTATES.
♪
LOCAL CAMERAMAN DEMIAN BARRIOS
IS ON HAND TO CAPTURE THE ACTION AS IT UNFOLDS.
Barrios: WE WERE STANDING THERE, STANDING ON THE ROAD
WATCHING THESE LOBES OF LAVA SLOWLY START TO COVER THE ROAD
MAYBE 5 FEET THICK, 10 FEET THICK,
AND THEN YOU’D LOOK BEHIND
AND YOU WOULD JUST SEE THIS HUGE WALL,
ALMOST LIKE A BULLDOZER JUST COMING DOWN, SMACK,
LITERALLY SMASHING THE FOREST,
FLOPPING TREES DOWN ON THEIR SIDE
BEFORE IT ACTUALLY CONSUMED THEM.
Narrator: ALL RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO LEAVE.
ONE BY ONE, PEOPLE’S DREAMS ARE DEVOURED BY RIVERS OF FIRE.
RESCUE TEAMS SCOUR THE AREA WITH FLASHLIGHTS--
CHECKING FOR ANYONE STILL LEFT IN THEIR HOME...
GUIDED BY THE EYE IN THE SKY OF AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE DRONES.
DEMIAN IS THERE, TOO, DETERMINED TO DOCUMENT
THE LAST MOMENTS OF LEILANI ESTATES.
Barrios: SITTING THERE WATCHING
THIS THRIVING NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNITY
SLOWLY TURNING INTO A DISASTER ZONE,
I FELT VERY, VERY HELPLESS.
Narrator: LOCAL RESIDENT TRAVIS SANDERS
CAN’T TEAR HIMSELF AWAY.
HE WAITS UNTIL THE VERY LAST MINUTE
TO SAY FAREWELL TO HIS HOME.
Travis Sanders: SO RIGHT THERE IS THE HOUSE, THAT TINY HOUSE--
AND THAT’S THE LAVA RIGHT IN THE BUSH.
I LIVED--I LIVED IN THIS HOUSE FOR ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS.
AND OH, YEAH, AND THERE’S A FISSURE
THAT POPPED UP THERE, GUYS-- IT’S RAGING.
WHEN THAT LAVA WRAPPED AROUND THE PROPERTY, IT WAS HOT.
WE KNEW IT WAS OVER FOR US.
[EXPLOSION]
THAT’S A CAR.
IF WE DIDN’T LEAVE AT THE TIME WE DID,
WE WOULDN’T EVEN BE HERE.
IT’S GOING TO BE ABOUT TIME TO GO.
ANYTIME HERE, I’M GOING TO HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE.
[FROGS CHIRPING]
Narrator: THE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS DESTROYED BY LAVA
AROUND LEILANI LEAPS FROM 50 TO 82.
[FLAMES CRACKLING]
HOMES MAY HAVE BEEN DESTROYED,
BUT TO DATE NO LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST
FROM THE CURRENT ERUPTIONS AT KILAUEA...
THANKS PARTLY TO EXTENSIVE MONITORING
OF HAWAII’S VOLCANOES FOR OVER A CENTURY
AND ALSO TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
Johnson: THE BEST MODEL FOR THAT SORT OF COMMUNICATION
IS CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION.
IT’S NOT UP TO THE GEOLOGISTS AND THE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
TO MAKE THE CALL AS TO WHEN TO EVACUATE.
IT’S UP TO THOSE DECISION MAKERS TO MAKE THAT CALL.
ALL WE AS SCIENTISTS CAN DO IS UPDATE THEM ON THE ACTIVITY,
TELL THEM ABOUT OUR UNCERTAINTIES AS WELL.
Narrator: DAY 33.
NO ONE REMAINS IN THE WRECKAGE OF LEILANI.
THERE ARE NOW 24 FISSURES.
FISSURE 8 IS THE MOST ACTIVE VENT
AND HAS GROWN TO ENORMOUS PROPORTIONS.
FAST-FLOWING TORRENTS OF MOLTEN ROCK
LIKE A RIVER DELTA.
IT SPLITS INTO A NUMBER OF TONGUES BEFORE REJOINING
TO LEAVE ISLANDS OF LAND MAROONED BY MOLTEN ROCK.
NOW THE SCORCHING RIVER CLAIMS ITS NEXT VICTIM.
TURNING SOUTH, IT BURNS THROUGH THE FOREST
AND HEADS FOR A LOCAL BEAUTY SPOT CALLED GREEN LAKE--
THE LARGEST LAKE ON THE ISLAND AND A POPULAR SWIMMING HOLE.
Barrios: FISSURE 8 WITH THIS... YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT?
AN EIGHT-MILE-LONG HUGE RIVER OF LAVA--
CAME AROUND THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF GREEN MOUNTAIN.
AND IT EVAPORATED THE LAKE IN GREEN MOUNTAIN COMPLETELY.
Narrator: IT TAKES JUST SIX HOURS
FOR THE LAVA TO BOIL THE LAKE DRY.
THE LAVA RIVER REACHES THE PACIFIC AND FILLS KAPAHO BAY.
JUST 14 HOURS LATER,
THE NEW LAVA DELTA STRETCHES OUT FOR OVER A KILOMETER.
SINCE ERUPTIONS BEGAN ON MAY 3, KILAUEA HAS SPEWED OUT
AROUND 115 MILLION CUBIC METERS OF LAVA...
ENOUGH TO FILL 46,000 OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOLS.
THE SHAPE OF HAWAII’S BIG ISLAND IS BEING TRANSFORMED.
[HELICOPTER]
IT’S A MONTH SINCE THE ERUPTION IN GUATEMALA.
MISSING PRESUMED DEAD NOW STANDS AT 332.
IT’S SPECULATION; NO ONE KNOWS
HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE LIVING HERE BEFORE THE ERUPTION.
THE NUMBER OF DEAD
MAY EVENTUALLY REACH INTO THE THOUSANDS.
FUNERAL PROCESSIONS ARE NOW A COMMON SIGHT IN THE VALLEYS.
FOR SOME, THERE’S SOLACE
IN KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR LOVED ONES.
YET FOR SO MANY MORE, ANGUISH FOR THOSE MISSING GOES ON.
[PEOPLE CRYING]
THE VOLCANO IS QUIETER NOW,
BUT THERE’S STILL GREAT DANGER IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS AHEAD
FOR THOSE LIVING IN ITS SHADOW.
Watson: LAHARS ARE DEFINITELY THE HAZARD
THAT WE NEED TO NOW BE FOCUSED UPON.
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER LARGE ERUPTION
THAT GENERATED PYROCLASTIC FLOWS.
THAT CERTAINLY CAN’T BE RULED OUT,
AND WE HAVE TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF THAT.
BUT LARGE LAHARS AND MUDSLIDES ARE ABSOLUTELY INEVITABLE.
Narrator: BUT CAN A DISASTER ON THIS SCALE
BE AVERTED IN THE FUTURE?
BETTER SEISMIC MONITORING CAN PREDICT
WHEN ACTIVITY DEEP IN THE VOLCANO
IS REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS--
SO PEOPLE ARE EVACUATED RAPIDLY TO SAFETY.
[BOOM]
Venzke: THE IMPACT OF THE FUEGO ERUPTION, I THINK,
WILL BE FOR FORECASTERS AND OBSERVATORIES TO FOCUS
ON SMALL SIGNS THAT MIGHT BE PRESENT
THAT WOULD INDICATE SOMETHING UNUSUAL IS HAPPENING QUICKLY.
IT’S A VERY DIFFICULT TASK FOR THE SCIENTISTS TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT THOSE SMALL CHANGES MIGHT IMPLY FOR THE ACTIVITY.
BUT THE FUEGO ERUPTION REALLY POINTS OUT THE NEED
FOR JUST ONGOING RESEARCH, DEPLOYING NEW TECHNOLOGIES,
FASTER, BETTER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS.
Mercer: YOU KNOW, GUATEMALA’S NO STRANGER
TO NATURAL DISASTERS.
THIS COUNTRY IS ONE OF THE MOST PRONE
TO NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE WORLD.
I MEAN, EARTHQUAKES HAPPEN ALL THE TIME.
THERE’S THREE VERY ACTIVE VOLCANOES
WITH POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING AROUND THEM.
MUDSLIDES DURING THE RAINY SEASON ARE A REGULAR OCCURRENCE.
THIS VOLCANIC ERUPTION IS SOMETHING
THAT PEOPLE HERE IN GUATEMALA HAVEN’T SEEN BEFORE,
AN ERUPTION OF THIS MAGNITUDE,
AN ERUPTION THAT LEFT THIS MANY PEOPLE DEAD,
THIS MANY PEOPLE MISSING.
IT’S JUST SOMETHING HORRIFIC
THAT WE NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN IN GUATEMALA.
[BABY CRYING]
Narrator: IN HAWAII, LEILANI ESTATES
HAS BEEN RAZED TO THE GROUND.
ROADS ARE IMPASSABLE, AND THE LANDSCAPE...
CHANGED FOREVER.
[HELICOPTER]
[RUMBLING]
YET THE DRAMATIC SPECTACLE OF THE VOLCANO
CONTINUES TO DRAW TOURISTS.
JULY 16, PEOPLE BOARD A TRIP BOAT
TO SEE WHERE THE LAVA MEETS THE OCEAN--
OBLIVIOUS TO THE DANGER.
BUT THE POWER OF THE VOLCANO IS BROUGHT HOME IN DEADLY FASHION
WHEN THE BOAT GETS TOO CLOSE.
[SPLASH]
[PEOPLE SCREAMING]
News anchor: IN HAWAII,
A FRIGHTENING SCENE CAUGHT ON VIDEO
SHOWS THE MOMENT A LAVA BOMB HITS A BOAT TOUR.
AIRBORNE HOT LAVA PUNCTURED THE BOAT’S ROOF.
AUTHORITIES SAY 23 PEOPLE WERE INJURED,
13 OF THE VICTIMS TREATED AT THE HOSPITAL.
Narrator: 1,247 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL,
THE VOLCANO’S CRATER LAKE IS STILL DRAINING,
AND THERE’S NO SIGN OF THE LAVA FLOW SLOWING.
Pyle: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW
FROM PREVIOUS ERUPTIONS OF KILAUEA
IS THAT THESE ERUPTIONS CAN BE QUITE LONG LASTING.
SO THE 1955 ERUPTION,
WHICH HAS MANY SIMILARITIES TO THE CURRENT ERUPTION,
THAT PARTICULAR ERUPTION LASTED FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS.
BUT AGAIN, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES OF VOLCANOLOGY
IS THAT VOLCANOLOGISTS ARE VERY ABLE TO TELL YOU
WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE CAN OBSERVE IT.
AND WE’RE ABLE TO TELL YOU WHAT’S LIKELY TO HAPPEN NEXT,
BECAUSE WE HAVE EXPERIENCE OF WHAT’S HAPPENED IN THE PAST.
BUT IT’S ACTUALLY VERY DIFFICULT TO BE ABLE TO FORECAST
WHEN AN ERUPTION IS GOING TO DECLINE OR STOP.
AND IT’S VERY HARD TO MAKE LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS
OF WHAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN.
Narrator: ENORMOUS LAVA FOUNTAINS
RELENTLESSLY FEED RIVERS OF SEARING MOLTEN ROCK.
Barrios: I HAD TO TAKE A MOMENT AND PUT MY CAMERA DOWN
AND KIND OF SOAK IT IN WITH MY EYES,
BECAUSE I REALIZED THAT WHAT I WAS WATCHING WAS HISTORY UNFOLD.
YOU KNOW, THE VOLCANO IS VERY DESTRUCTIVE,
BUT IT IS ALSO THE SAME FORCE THAT HAS CREATED THESE ISLANDS.
Narrator: VOLCANOES ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING--
SO WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR KILAUEA?
WORK HAS REVEALED THAT KILAUEA ALTERNATES
OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS
BETWEEN EXPELLING LAVA, AS IT’S DOING TODAY,
AND VIOLENT ERUPTIONS FROM THE CRATER.
IF THE FLOOR OF THE SUMMIT CRATER COLLAPSES,
MAGMA COULD STRIKE UNDERGROUND WATER,
PRODUCING A VIOLENT ERUPTION LIKE THE ONE IN GUATEMALA.
[EXPLOSION]
Patrick: IN THE PAST, KILAUEA HAS HAD THIS HISTORY
OF EXPLOSIVE BEHAVIOR,
MORE EXPLOSIVE THAN I THINK MOST PEOPLE RECOGNIZE.
Narrator: THE LAST TIME KILAUEA WAS IN AN EXPLOSIVE PHASE
WAS AROUND 1800--
BUT AT SOME POINT IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN
WITH POTENTIALLY DEADLY RESULTS.
♪
KILAUEA AND FUEGO--
TWO MAJOR ERUPTIONS CLOSE TOGETHER.
SO ARE THEY LINKED IN SOME WAY?
Venzke: SO THE ERUPTION AT FUEGO HAS BEEN GOING ON
ALMOST CONSTANTLY FOR THE PAST 16 YEARS.
THE KILAUEA ERUPTION HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE 1983.
IT REALLY IS COINCIDENCE THAT THERE WERE THESE TWO ERUPTIONS--
ONE THAT CAUSED DAMAGE
AND ONE THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, CAUSED GREAT DAMAGE AND DEATH.
THERE’S NO DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO ERUPTIONS.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE ERUPTIONS AREN’T CONNECTED,
BOTH OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO GATHER VALUABLE DATA--
DATA THAT COULD HELP PREDICT FUTURE ERUPTIONS
AND SAVE LIVES.
Venzke: THERE ARE ERUPTIONS HAPPENING ALL THE TIME.
THERE ARE SCIENTISTS ON THE GROUND STUDYING THESE EVERY DAY.
THE DATA THAT’S BEING COLLECTED FOR SCIENCE
IS REALLY A TREASURE TROVE FOR VOLCANOLOGISTS.
I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE TWO ERUPTIONS--
SO CLOSE TOGETHER IN TIME, BUT SO DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT--
IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND
WE DO LIVE ON A VERY DYNAMIC PLANET.
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator: AS LONG AS WE LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF VOLCANOES,
THE MORE WE LEARN,
THE BETTER OUR CHANCES IN THE NEXT ERUPTION.
♪
[EXPLOSION]