When an eruption occurs on Hawaiʻi Island, a coordinated team from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency, and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park quickly assembles to respond.
Collectively, they have released a new interagency plan that focuses on communication with the public during volcanic events.
“We've worked together well for decades, but this is the first time we've committed it to pen and paper,” said Ken Hon, the chief at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Hon said providing near-constant updates on an eruption is critical to fighting misinformation. “If we leave a lag time, it seems to get filled in by social media, and oftentimes the information isn't as accurate as we would like to see,” he said.
Talmadge Magno, the head of Civil Defense, said misinformation surrounding the 2018 Kīleaua eruption dampened tourism.
“National media was putting out information that made it sound like the whole island was under some kind of volcanic threat,” he said. “Being on top of all the different ways to launch information is very critical for dealing with any emergency, especially volcano eruptions that garner so much attention.”
All of that attention can put emergency managers in a tough spot. Eruptions can be extremely destructive, destroying homes, damaging key infrastructure like roads and energy projects, and fundamentally changing the natural landscape on Hawaiʻi Island.
But eruptions are also natural marvels that people want to see. These agencies have to deal with the fact that sometimes people want to go toward — rather than away — from the eruption, even if it’s dangerous.
For instance, enforcement officers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources had to issue a handful of citations in 2022 when a few people got too close to the lava flows during Maunaloa’s eruption.
Scientists, like Hon, understand the draw of lava. He recalled the unique mix of excitement and concern he always feels in the lead-up to an eruption. Volcanologist Natalia Deligne, Hon's USGS colleague, said that witnessing a fire fountain emerge from Kīlaeua’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater was “one of the most amazing moments of [her] life.”
“Just feeling the Earth moving and the heat — there's really nothing like it. It's very awe-inspiring and very humbling,” she said.
Deligne emphasized that everyone should treat eruptions with the utmost respect, and keep safety in mind at all times.
Chief Ranger Jack Corrao echoed those sentiments, saying that Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was committed to keeping its employees and the public safe first and foremost.
“If we can get you there, we will. But safety is our priority,” he said.
Corrao said that during previous closures, the park has had to contend with rumors that it, “allows staff to enter closures and witness the eruptive activity while keeping the public out.”
Corrao said that is “simply not true,” adding that the only staff who are permitted near an eruption are those who are tasked with assessing the hazards of an eruptive event or who respond to closure violations.
The interagency plan has an extensive list of ways emergency managers plan to communicate with the public about safety during an eruption. Those protocols have already had a test drive. The plan was in its initial stages of development when Maunaloa erupted in 2022.
“It worked really well in action, and so that was really good,” Hon said.
