Hawaii Volcano Eruption: Evacuees Return To homes As Officials Scale Down operations

On Monday, Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency Administrator Talmadge Magno announced the emergency operations have scaled down since lava started pouring vigorously from the ground through the fissures of Kilauea.

He said: “We have pretty much thrown everything at this event.

“Some aspects of it can kind of start to scale down as the volcano somewhat runs into a stable situation.”

Mr Magno’s definition of “stable” does not mean that lava has stopped its flow but that it is simply not threatening new areas.

He also claimed that officials are currently moving to recovery efforts with the help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is also starting to assess the catastrophic damage Kilauea has caused.

More than 600 homes are estimated to have been destroyed by the lava so far.

As well as the hundreds of homes lost, Kilauea has destroyed countless other buildings and engulfed massive expanses of land.

Janet Babb, a geologist at the USGS’ Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said there was “not a lot of change” to the lava flow but claimed there was a “weak activity” at two fissures.

According to Hawaii Civil Defence Administrator officials are currently reducing checkpoints and less staff is needed for the 24-hour operation centre.

On May 3 half of the residents of a subdivision were forced to evacuate when a fissure opened, but they were allowed to return last week.

The other half of the residents in a more endangered area will be allowed back during the day if conditions are safe.

Only residents are allowed to return to the areas deemed safe enough.

However, Mr Magno warned the threat level remains as it is possible a new fissure will open or another strong flow could appear from inactive vents.

If conditions change, Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency said additional workers can be called in.

The most recent explosion last week marked the 29th day of the ongoing eruption, which is now the most destructive in US history since the 1980 Mount St Helen blast, which killed more than 50 people.

The eruption has also had a toll on the area’s tourism industry as many are afraid to travel to the island.