Beauty and Disaster

Imagine you’re at recess. Basketballs are bouncing. Kickballs sail through the air. Kids are swinging from the jungle gym and trading Pokémon cards on the blacktop.

And then suddenly, BOOM!

An explosion shatters the peaceful afternoon. The ground shakes. Your heart stops. You stare in amazement as a massive gray cloud rises up into the sky.

You instantly realize: It’s a volcano erupting, just 2 miles from your school.

That is what happened this past May to 12-year-old Joshua Gula and his friends. Josh lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, home to Earth’s most active volcano: Kilauea.

For years, Kilauea had seemed tame. “We were never scared of it,” Josh says.

But like a purring cat that transforms into a roaring lion, this volcano had changed.

Was Kilauea turning into a killer?

Imagine you’re at recess. Basketballs are bouncing. Kickballs sail through the air. Kids are swinging from the jungle gym and trading Pokémon cards.

And then suddenly, BOOM!

An explosion shatters the peaceful afternoon. The ground shakes. Your heart stops. You stare as a huge gray cloud rises into the sky.

It’s a volcano erupting, just 2 miles from your school.

That is what happened this past May to 12-year-old Joshua Gula and his friends. Josh lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, home to one of Earth’s most active volcanoes: Kilauea.

For years, Kilauea had seemed tame. “We were never scared of it,” Josh says.

But like a purring cat that turns into a roaring lion, this volcano had changed.

Was Kilauea turning into a killer?

Volcanoes are a part of life in Hawaii. It is because of volcanoes, in fact, that Hawaii exists. Millions of years ago, under the Pacific Ocean, melted rock—magma—oozed up through cracks in the ocean floor.

When magma reaches Earth’s surface, it is known as lava. Like gooey melted chocolate that hardens in the fridge, this lava turned rock-solid when it hit the cold seawater. As more and more seeped up from under the ground, the mounds of hardened lava got taller and wider. Over millions of years, they rose up out of the sea to form islands.

Today, these hardened lava blobs are the state of Hawaii, which joined the United States in 1959—making it our newest state. It includes eight main islands. The largest are Hawaii (also known as the “Big Island”), Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Molokai.

Hawaii is remote, a thousand miles away from any other land. It’s also one of the most beautiful spots on Earth, a paradise of swaying palm trees, glittering ocean views, and lush forests bursting with flowers. More than 1.4 million people make their home in Hawaii. Another 9 million visit every year. Lying on a beach breathing in flowery breezes or surfing monster waves, a person can easily forget the islands’ volcanic beginnings.

Volcanoes are a part of life in Hawaii. In fact, Hawaii exists because of them. Millions of years ago, under the Pacific Ocean, melted rock—magma—oozed up through cracks in the ocean floor.

When magma reaches Earth’s surface, it’s called lava. Like gooey melted chocolate that hardens in the fridge, this lava turned rock-solid when it hit the cold seawater. As more and more seeped up from under the ground, the mounds of hardened lava got bigger. Over millions of years, they rose up out of the sea to form islands.

Today, these hardened lava blobs are the state of Hawaii. Hawaii joined the United States in 1959, making it our newest state. It includes eight main islands. The largest are Hawaii (also known as the “Big Island”), Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Molokai.

Hawaii is remote. It’s a thousand miles away from any other land. It’s also one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. It has swaying palm trees, glittering ocean views, and thick green forests. More than 1.4 million people live in Hawaii. Another 9 million visit every year. If you’re lying on a beautiful beach or surfing big waves, it’s easy to forget the islands’ volcanic beginnings.

But Hawaii’s volcanic forces are still hard at work. Six volcanoes on the islands of Hawaii are active, which means they can erupt at any moment. Kilauea is the most active in the world.

So why do people live near it?

To understand, you first need to realize that there are different kinds of volcanoes. The most famous—and violent—are known as stratovolcanoes. These are the fiery mountains that blow their tops with explosive fury, releasing super-hot gases and many tons of ash and rock.

Throughout history, stratovolcanoes have unleashed death and destruction onto everything in their paths. There’s Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, which erupted 1,500 years ago. It killed thousands and buried the city of Pompeii under 20 feet of ash and rock. Then there’s Krakatau, in Indonesia, which erupted in 1883 with a crack heard 3,000 miles away. And closer to home, there’s Mount St. Helens in Washington State, which killed 57 people when it erupted in 1980.

Kilauea is not this kind of disaster-movie volcano. It’s what is known as a shield volcano. Shield volcanoes look less like towering mountains and more like humps rising from the ground. Shields aren’t as likely to erupt with sudden violence. Rather, they ooze and hiss and rumble. Lava spurts in lazy fountains. It moves across the land slowly, at grandma-walking speeds.

But Hawaii’s volcanic forces are still hard at work. Six volcanoes on the islands of Hawaii are active, which means they can erupt at any time. Kilauea is the most active in the world.

So why do people live near it?

To understand, you need to know that there are different kinds of volcanoes. The most famous—and violent—are known as stratovolcanoes. These are the ones that erupt with explosive fury, letting loose super-hot gases and tons of ash and rock.

Throughout history, stratovolcanoes have done tremendous damage. Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, erupted 1,500 years ago. It killed thousands and buried the city of Pompeii under 20 feet of ash and rock. Then there’s Krakatau, in Indonesia, which erupted in 1883 with a crack heard 3,000 miles away. And closer to home, there’s Mount St. Helens in Washington State. It killed 57 people when it erupted in 1980.

Kilauea is not this kind of volcano. It’s what is known as a shield volcano. Shield volcanoes look less like tall mountains and more like humps rising from the ground. They aren’t as likely to erupt with sudden force. Instead, they ooze and hiss and rumble. Lava spurts in lazy fountains. It moves across the land slowly.

Kilauea has been oozing and spraying like this almost constantly since 1983. But nobody has been killed. Its fiery sprays made the volcano famous, the Beyoncé of mountains. Millions have traveled to the Big Island just to see it.

At the same time, neighborhoods grew all around Kilauea. Thousands of people moved in, including Josh and his family.

Josh fell in love with the beauty of the island, with the blue sky and turquoise Pacific, with the pink and purple and orange flowers that grow like weeds. And Kilauea! A volcano, right in his backyard!

He wasn’t afraid of it. Kilauea was a favorite spot for family hikes and school trips. Josh felt lucky to be able to hike up to its summit and peer inside—to watch in amazement as blazing lava streams plunged off cliffs and into the ocean.

And that day, when it exploded during recess? “Nobody was scared,” Josh says. “It was exciting. We knew right then it would be a historic event.”

Historic, yes. And very dangerous.

Kilauea has been oozing and spraying like this almost nonstop since 1983. But nobody has been killed. Its fiery sprays made the volcano famous. Millions have traveled to the Big Island to see it.

At the same time, neighborhoods grew all around Kilauea. Thousands of people moved in, including Josh and his family.

Josh loved the beauty of the island—the blue sky and turquoise Pacific, the pink and purple and orange flowers. And Kilauea! A volcano, right in his backyard!

He wasn’t afraid of it. Kilauea was a favorite spot for family hikes and school trips. Josh loved to hike up to its summit and peer inside, to watch as hot lava streams plunged off cliffs and into the ocean.

And that day, when it exploded during recess? “Nobody was scared,” Josh says. “It was exciting. We knew right then it would be a historic event.”

Historic, yes. And very dangerous.

What Josh—and most people living nearby—didn’t realize is that shield volcanoes can turn violent. And Kilauea has a deadly past. In 1790, the volcano exploded without warning, unleashing a churning river of lava and killing as many as 400 people. It erupted violently again in 1924 before mostly quieting down.

Scientists had been warning that Kilauea was likely to turn deadly again. And in April 2018, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected signs that the volcano was changing. Magma was building up under the volcano. Small earthquakes were rumbling under the ground.

Wendy Stovall is one of those scientists. “We knew that the system would bust open,” she says. “But we didn’t know where.”

That big explosion Josh and his friends witnessed was the first of several. And in the days that followed, Josh’s excitement turned to dread. One side of the volcano cracked open, and lava gushed out. Earthquakes—thousands per week—became more frequent and stronger. “I worried my school would collapse,” he says.

Most frightening was the lava. Red-hot rivers of the glowing molten rock poured into neighborhoods, devouring houses and cars. More than 1,000 people fled their homes. By July, about 700 houses had been destroyed.

Josh’s family lived 20 miles from the worst lava flows, so their house was safe. But Josh worried that the roads would become blocked, making it impossible for his family to escape if a more powerful eruption occurred. He was fearful of the toxic gases that were seeping out of the volcano. His parents gave him a gas mask to carry with him to protect his lungs from damage.

What would happen? When would the eruptions stop? Was a catastrophic eruption coming soon?

What Josh—and most people living nearby—didn’t know is that shield volcanoes can turn violent. And Kilauea has a deadly past. In 1790, it exploded without warning. It killed as many as 400 people. It erupted violently again in 1924.

Scientists had warned that Kilauea was likely to turn deadly again. And in April 2018, scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory saw signs that the volcano was changing. Magma was building up under the volcano. Small earthquakes were rumbling under the ground.

Wendy Stovall is one of those scientists. “We knew that the system would bust open,” she says. “But we didn’t know where.”

That big explosion Josh witnessed was the first of several. And in the days that followed, Josh’s excitement turned to dread. One side of the volcano cracked open, and lava gushed out. Earthquakes became stronger, and they happened more often. There were thousands of them every week. “I worried my school would collapse,” Josh says.

Scariest of all was the lava. Rivers of the hot molten rock poured into neighborhoods. It wrecked houses and cars. More than 1,000 people fled their homes. By July, about 700 houses had been destroyed.

Josh’s family lived 20 miles from the worst lava flows. Their house was safe. But Josh worried that the roads would become blocked, making it impossible to escape if a more powerful explosion occurred. And toxic gases were seeping out of the volcano. Josh’s parents gave him a gas mask to carry with him to protect his lungs.

What would happen? When would the eruptions stop? Was a catastrophic eruption coming soon?

The entire state of Hawaii remained on high alert throughout most of the summer. But fortunately, by August, Kilauea had calmed down. Today, it is back to its quiet, oozing self.

But those violent weeks shattered lives and left behind a changed land. Hundreds of people were left homeless. Many lost everything they owned. Like the ancient city of Pompeii, entire neighborhoods were buried. Hawaii’s largest lake turned into a steaming pit of lava. Kapoho Bay, a popular swimming spot, is now a river of molten rock.

Josh knows his family was lucky. Their home was spared, and so was Josh’s school.

He knows another eruption is possible. But Josh doesn’t dwell on the danger of living in this fiery land. He understands that volcanoes can destroy. But they can create too.

“Right now, the newest land on Earth is forming,” Josh says. “None of us would be living in this beautiful place if it weren’t for volcanoes.”

- With reporting by Anna Starecheski

The state of Hawaii was on high alert for most of the summer. But by August, Kilauea had calmed down. Today, it’s back to its quiet, oozing self.

But those violent weeks changed lives. Hundreds of people were left homeless. Many lost everything they owned. Whole neighborhoods were buried. Hawaii’s largest lake turned into a steaming pit of lava. Kapoho Bay, a popular swimming spot, is now a river of molten rock.

Josh knows his family was lucky. Their home was spared. His school was too.

He knows another eruption is possible. But he doesn’t dwell on the danger. Volcanoes can destroy, but they can create too.

“Right now, the newest land on Earth is forming,” Josh says. “None of us would be living in this beautiful place if it weren’t for volcanoes.”

- With reporting by Anna Starecheski

This article was originally published in the December 2018 / January 2019 issue.

This article was originally published in the December 2018 / January 2019 issue.