Lava began shooting out of the ground amid the homes in Leilani Estates two years ago today, then slowed and suddenly stopped four months later, leaving both a financial and emotional toll that may never be known.
“We’re profoundly changed,” said state Sen. Russell Ruderman (D, Puna), who owns the Island Naturals Market & Deli in Pahoa.
“There has been a massive case of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) as a result of this that still has largely been unrecognized and mostly untreated,” Ruderman said. “Most of us have not been made emotionally whole. You can see it and it’s a serious issue.”
Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County’s former fire chief and Civil Defense administrator, called the 2018 Kilauea eruption the biggest event in the lower Puna District “in my lifetime.”
“People are still trying to recover,” he said. “People are still waiting and trying to find solutions to their housing needs.”
Even as lower Puna faces the new coronavirus pandemic — further choking a post-eruption economic revival — steam has been coming out of the ground around Pahoa’s Alaili Road, mauka of Highway 130, affecting at least eight properties, according to the county.
Kilauea stopped spewing lava completely in early September. But heat “from a magmatic intrusion” created new vents around Alaili Road that continue to emit steam, the county said.
On the leeward end of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park — more than 50 miles southwest of Pahoa — Kilauea’s lower southwest rift zone near the town of Pahala has been shaken by nearly 6,000 earthquakes that began in August.
Most were magnitude 2 or lower. The largest of 3.5 magnitude occurred Jan. 6.
The 8,488-acre lava field surrounding Leilani Estates — the epicenter of the eruption and birthplace of the prodigious fissure 8 — will be hot for perhaps decades.
When it rains, “it’s still so hot that it steams,” said Jay Turkovsky, who was president of the Leilani Community Association when the eruption began and has since returned to his home.
He called Kilauea “definitely alive and well.”
In all, the eruption destroyed 723 structures, including an estimated 200 primary residences, at a projected cost of $290 million. Another $270 million in damage was caused to county roads and water supply infrastructure.
At the same time, an additional 875 acres of Hawaii island coastline were created as lava flowed to the sea.
The human toll left 2,950 Hawaii island workers without jobs between May 2018 and June 2019 as the tourism industry collapsed, costing another $415 million in projected lost tourism revenue.
The four-month closure of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park alone caused the loss of another $99.4 million in revenue.
And for homeowners looking to rebuild — or even gain access to usable homes surrounded by lava fields — “it’s not a simple answer” because of the need to also restore power, water and other essentials, said Douglas Le, Hawaii County’s disaster recovery officer.
Roads are being re-opened and many more are being debated over, Le said.
“These decisions don’t live in a silo,” he said. “The impacts will be felt for decades to come whether we restore or don’t restore. We’re still lining up what’s next.”
Three families that attended Puna Baptist Church lost their homes and two of them moved to the mainland, said Pastor Alan Tamashiro.
On a typical Sunday before Kilauea erupted, about 90 people would show up for service.
“It is back up, but it’s not to the point that it was before the eruption,” Tamashiro said. “Now we go from anywhere between 60 and 80.”
Turkovsky and his wife, Gloria, returned to their home on Moku Street in Leilani Estates on Sept. 17 after nearby fissure 8 stopped spewing lava.
Compared to neighbors who lost their homes, the Turkovskys got off lucky by needing to spend only $8,000 in repairs for such things as repainting their roof that was damaged by acid rain.
Now age 74, Turkovsky does not expect to see another eruption like the one that lasted from May to September 2018. But living on an active volcano taught him not to make assumptions.
“There’s no part of this island that isn’t lava,” he said. “It’s anybody’s guess where the next breakout might be.”
—
KILAUEA’S TOLL
8,488
Acres of new lava field
875
Acres of new shoreline
723
Structures destroyed, including approximately 200 primary residences
$290M
Estimated cost of damage to structures and homes
$270M
Estimated cost of damage to county roads and water supply infrastructure
$27.9M
Estimated cost from lost agriculture production
Source: Hawaii County Kilauea eruption recovery task force
