New Mauna Loa Eruption Reopens A Costly Old Issue: Why Is Building Allowed In Risky Lava Zones? 4 Hawaii County hasn’t finished buying out property owners after the 2018 lava flow that devastated Leilani and Kapoho, and here comes another potential disaster.
Lava from the Mauna Loa eruption was apparently headed away from homes in the volcano’s southwest rift zone Monday, offering at least a temporary reprieve to property owners in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates and other areas that are most at risk. But the new eruption reopens old questions about where development should be allowed, and under what conditions.
Hawaii County is still in the process of buying up properties affected by the last devastating eruption of Kilauea volcano, which destroyed more than 700 homes in the Leilani Estates and Kapoho areas in 2018.
Before that disaster, the Kilauea flows destroyed Kalapana in 1990, and before that was the loss of Kapoho village in 1960. This is not a new problem.
Sunday marked the first time Mauna Loa volcano has erupted since 1984, but county officials are once again facing a situation where lava could threaten housing that has sprung up over the years in what is known as Lava Zone 1. Those are the riskiest areas that are smack on the volcanic rift zones.
