The Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted on Thursday, scarring forests and sending plumes of ash thousands of feet into the sky.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued an emergency proclamation, and authorities ordered residents to evacuate as fissures spewed lava and molten rock up to 100 feet in the air in the Leilani Estates subdivision, which is located 25 miles from Kilauea.
"It sounded like there were rocks in a dryer that were being tumbled around," Jeremiah Osuna, a local resident told The Washington Post. "You could hear the power of it pushing out of the ground."
The eruption intensified over the weekend, destroying at least 26 homes and four other buildings and forcing 1,700 people to evacuate from Leilani Estates. Authorities have locked down the subdivision, and no residents are allowed in. Police say some residents are still trapped in their homes, but there's no way to rescue them right now, CBS reported.
The US Geological Survey is warning locals that more fissures may open up in the area in the coming days.
Beyond the immediate fire danger from the lava, high levels of sulfur dioxide spewing from the volcano pose a serious threat to children, elderly people, and people with respiratory issues.
Dramatic photos from the US Geological Survey show lava pouring into residential neighborhoods around a series of volcanic fissures that have opened. Here's what it looks like on the ground:
Smoke and ash started rising from the Pu'u O'o vent in the hours before the eruption on Thursday.
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake that struck the area earlier was a clue that an eruption could be coming.
That earthquake caused the Pu'u O'o vent to collapse, leading lava to flow underground toward the area where the eruption occurred in Leilani Estates.
See the rest of the story at INSIDER
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