PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - A growing river of molten rock flowing from a fissure at the foot of Kilauea Volcano is believed to have demolished scores of additional homes and filled in a small bay at the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island, civil defense officials said on Tuesday.

The latest estimates — up to 80 more structures than previously counted as destroyed by lava smothering two newly evacuated subdivisions — could bring the total number of homes and other buildings lost over the past month to nearly 200.

Such a tally would put property losses from the current upheaval of Kilauea, which entered its 34th day on Tuesday, on par with 215 structures destroyed by lava during all 35 years of the volcano’s last eruption cycle, which began in 1983.

On Monday, the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency was putting the confirmed number of buildings lost to the current eruption at 117, mostly residential properties. About 80 of those were destroyed in the Leilani Estates community, where lava-spouting fissures in the ground first opened on May 3 downhill from the volcano’s eastern flank.

Another three-dozen homes were confirmed destroyed this past weekend when a large lava stream creeping 6 miles (9.7 km) across the landscape reached the far eastern edge of the Big Island, pouring into the ocean at a place called Kapoho Bay.

On Tuesday, a civil defense official told Reuters that at least 60 to 80 more homes were believed to have been devoured as the lava flow, measuring about a half-mile (80-meter) wide and 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.6 meter) tall, inundated the adjacent subdivisions of Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland.

The official said aerial surveillance of the area showed only the northern portion of Kapoho Beach and the southernmost “sliver” of Vacationland — the latter consisting of only about a half-dozen homes — were left unscathed.

Vivian Mark, a resident of Hilo who owns a beachfront vacation rental in Vacationland and is president of the Vacationland Hawaii Community Association, said Vacationland consisted of 240 housing lots and nearly 90 farm lots, but she was unsure how many of those had properties built on them.

Video footage from a helicopter flying over the area showed two seaside homes engulfed in flames, as clouds of white steam and hydrochloric acid fumes billowed from the water where red-hot lava was pouring into the ocean.

Civil defense officials said Kapoho Bay itself had been filled in with lava that extended seven-tenths of a mile (1.1 km) from what had been the shoreline.

“What used to be the bay is now all lava bed, new land, almost a mile (1.6 km) out into the ocean,” the civil defense spokesman told Reuters.

Authorities began evacuating the greater Kapoho area last week and ushered most of the last remaining residents to safety early on Saturday, hours before the lava flow severed all road access to the region. Several holdouts were airlifted by helicopter on Sunday, leaving no more than a handful of people who refused to leave, officials said.

The lava inundating Kapoho is emanating from Fissure 8, the only volcanic vent that was still belching large volumes of molten rock from the ground as of Tuesday, officials said. </s> HONOLULU (CBSLA/CBS News/AP) — Lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano destroyed “hundreds” of homes overnight, including a house belonging to the Big Island’s mayor, according to a Hawaii County spokeswoman.

Janet Snyder said Tuesday that hundreds of homes were lost Monday night in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reported Tuesday morning that approximately 150 homes have been lost since the eruption began.

Snyder said it was difficult to count homes in that area from the air because of steam produced from lava entering the ocean.

Lava destroyed Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim’s second home in Vacationland. County Managing Director Wil Okabe says his vacation home in Kapoho Beach Lots is also threatened.

Most area residents have already evacuated. Thousands in the Puna district left after lava fissures started opening in neighborhoods a month ago.

Evans reports the cascade into Kapoho Bay is releasing toxic steam mixed with tiny particles of glass. It’s the second time lava has hit the ocean since the crisis began.

Scientists said a laze plume was blowing inland from the ocean entry but dissipating quickly. Laze is formed when hot lava hits the ocean, reacts with sea water and sends hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles in the air.

Officials warned the public to stay away from the plume because it can irritate skin and eyes and make it difficult to breathe. </s> The texts and calls to John Tarson, a tour operator in Hawaii who has taken thousands of visitors to see lava flowing from the Kilauea volcano over the years, began soon after last week's spectacular eruptions.

There were expressions of concern for the residents on the island's eastern edge who were forced to flee their homes, and about his own safety. There were exclamations of fear and awe at the lava spreading across the land. And then, some version of the question: "Can we go watch?"

To those, Tarson, 37, had an easy response; Business was closed. "At this point our efforts are all going to be to help the community that is suffering losses."

The natural wonder that is the Kilauea volcano is the main attraction of Hawaii's Big Island, with nearly all of its 2 million annual visitors making a stop in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. But as the volcano and the surrounding area transformed into a natural disaster, leaving almost three dozen structures destroyed, residents, officials and tourists alike wrestled with its dual nature.

Twelve fissures have emerged, sending lava into the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions, where about 1,800 people live. Last week, Hawaii County ordered the subdivisions evacuated. Thirty-five structures have been destroyed, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

The authorities began allowing residents of Leilani Estates to retrieve their belongings Sunday, while Lanipuna Gardens remained closed because of dangerous volcanic gases.

The island has been hit by hundreds of earthquakes in recent days, and more aftershocks were expected, officials said.

Heath Dalton, who lives in Leilani Estates and was evacuated Friday, returned to his home Sunday morning. He drove a truck and trailer, planning to pick up possessions that he had packed earlier. Instead, he found his home engulfed.

He called two neighbours to tell them their houses were gone. "I look at mine and I can see my house burning," said Dalton, who was unharmed. "At that point I called my wife and said, 'There's no reason for you to come; there's nothing to get.'" </s> Kilauea has been erupting continuously since May 3, when a series of earthquakes resulted in a powerful expulsion of lava. Earthquakes continue to rock the summit, with the draining lava resulting in subsidence inside the volcano. United States Geological Survey spokesman Steve Brantley told residents: “At the summit, the volcano continues to subside very slowly over time and periodically, now once about every 30 hours or almost every day, the ground drops as much as 2.5m. "Each drop results in a ground shaking that’s equivalent to about a magnitude 5 event.” Fissure 8 remains the most active, with lava pouring out into a channel constantly flowing across the island.

However, fissure 20 has also reactivated, spewing lava into the air and toward the ocean. Fissures are cracks in the earth’s surface which are created when lava from an erupting volcano forces its way up towards land. Mr Brantley added: "A high rate of lava is still being erupted and we really haven’t noticed a change in that rate. "The lava is pouring into the open channel that makes it’s way to the northeast and makes a sharp right-hand turn on the east side of Kapoho crater.

"A little over a week ago, the open channel that was pouring into the ocean began to recede such that the distal portion of that lava flow was being covered over with a cooled surface. "Instead the lava was moving through the core of that flow and entering the ocean in a very broad area." At 4pm Wednesday local time (3am Thursday BST), The Hawaii Civil Defense issued a warning for residents. This Civil Defence Message reported: “Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent. “A flow moving around the west side of Kapoho Cone has proceeded to a quarter of a mile to the coast.

“Break outs are occurring from the main channel in Leilani Estates. "The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that two homes on Luana Street have been destroyed by the break out and one home on Nohea Street is threatened.” The latest official number of houses destroyed in Lower Puna was 700 - a figure which continues to rise as the volcano erupts. The USGS said lava has covered more than 6,100 acres across Big Island, with a channel continuously pouring into the ocean. </s> Hawaii's Kilauea volcano claimed its latest victim, the picturesque Kapoho Bay as it filled the bay with molten lava flows. Overnight, hundreds of homes were destroyed as rivers of lava poured into oceanfront communities.

Just a few days ago Kapoho Bay was a beautiful vacation destination, filled with vacation homes, beautiful beaches and clear water. Today, the bay is filled with a lava field that extends 0.8 miles from the old bay, completely reshaping the coastline of Hawaii.

The recent lava flows are the most destructive since Kilauea volcano began to profusely erupt over a month ago. Early on in the eruption, Leilani Estates and the Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions were destroyed by lava flows and volcanic bombs of rock and ash.

With the recent lava flows in Kapoho Bay, Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots are now largely destroyed. Officials with the Hawaii County Civil Defense said that likely most of the homes have been destroyed of the nearly 500 in the two communities. Of the destroyed homes in Mayor Harry Kim's second vacation home in Vacationland.

Aerial videos show the lava flow hitting the Pacific Ocean as it turns into plumes of toxic hydrochloric acid steam and glass fragments, called laze. As waves enter the bay, they are cracking and jostling the lava, which lithifies on contact with the relatively cold ocean water.

The lava running into Kapoho Bay is being fed by channelized flow from fissure 8 according to the USGS. The rivers of lava accompany 150 to 180 feet high lava fountains fed by fissure 8.

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the island on Tuesday morning, the latest jolt associated with the eruptions. According to the USGS, the big island of Hawaii has been hit by 9,900 earthquakes since May 4th. In addition, the lava completely evaporated and filled Green Lake, the largest freshwater lake on the island in a matter of hours.

As hundreds of homes are destroyed by lava flows and families are displaced, Hawaii is forced to manage a difficult situation. Where will the people live whose homes were destroyed and now lies a barren lava field? Do they still own the fee simple lease on the land? Can they ever move back?

There aren't clear answers to these questions yet, but likely many of the families will have to resettle either elsewhere on the island or move off the island. In addition, the government of Hawaii must now decide what to do with newly created land, something no other state has to manage.

The latest string of lava flows, destroyed homes, and reshaped coastline reminds us that Hawaii is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Those that live on the island are merely Pele's tenants and eviction requires no forewarning. </s> Hawaii officials on Sunday upped the number of destroyed homes to "at least 9" in the wake of last week's eruption of the Kilauea volcano.

The news was revealed in a 8:15 a.m. update from Hawaii County.

"Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirms 2 more fissures emerged between Leilani and Malama Street near Luana and Kupono Street last night, bringing the total number of fissures to 9 at this time," it also said.

Fissures are vents through which lava is emitted from the volcano.

The Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday. The area also has been affected by extremely high levels of sulfur gas, and by several earthquakes, including one that hit on Friday at a magnitude of 6.9.

The Leilani Estates subdivision on Hawaii's Big Island has been affected by the eruption and subsequent earthquakes.

"Conditions permitting, Leilani Estates residents with property between Highway 130 and Maile Street will be allowed to enter the subdivision to complete evacuation of pets, medicine and vital documents left behind between the hours of 8 AM to 6 PM," Hawaii County officials said Sunday morning.

"I have no idea how soon we can get back," Todd Corrigan, a resident of the Leilani Estates subdivision, said.

He said he and his wife left Friday as lava burst through the ground three or four blocks from their home. They spent the night on the beach in their car and began looking for a vacation rental.

HAWAII’S KILAUEA VOLCANO ERUPTS, MANDATORY EVACUATIONS ORDERED FOR MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE

Fox News' Zoe Szathmary and The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> Lava erupting from Hawaii’s powerful Kilauea volcano has now destroyed at least 26 homes, more than double the previous figure, officials announced Sunday, citing grim findings from an aerial survey by the fire department.

Scientists reported lava spewing more than 200 feet into the air. More than 1,700 people have evacuated, and some said they may have to stay away from their homes for a long time.

Earlier in the day, officials had said the lava destroyed nine homes.

Big Island civil defense officials also said Sunday that two new fissures, or vents where lava has broken through the ground, have emerged in the Leilani Estates subdivision.

“There’s more magma in the system to be erupted. As long as that supply is there, the eruption will continue,” U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Wendy Stovall said.

As many as 10 fissures have opened up since the eruption started late Thursday afternoon, scientists said, adding that one of those vents has gone dormant.

Among the people whose homes were destroyed: an elementary school teacher and single mother of two. The woman, Amber Makuakane, told The Associated Press her three-bedroom house was right across from a fissure that had opened Friday. She says there was some steam rising from all parts of the yard initially but everything looked fine.

She also said she knew the volcano’s risks, but wanted to stay close to her family. Her children’s ages are 6 and 4.

A fellow teacher started a fundraising page to help Makuakane and her family rebuild.

Some people who evacuated will be allowed to return to pick up pets, medicine and vital documents, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> After weeks of steadily flowing to the ocean in a self-contained channel, lava from fissure 8 began spilling over into Leilani Estates, destroying more homes in the subdivision, according to Hawaii County officials.

After weeks of steadily flowing to the ocean in a self-contained channel, lava from fissure 8 began spilling over into Leilani Estates, destroying more homes in the subdivision, according to Hawaii County officials.

Hawaii Civil Defense said Wednesday afternoon that three homes were destroyed by breakouts that occurred Wednesday, but the breakouts have since stalled.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported earlier that two of the consumed homes were on Luana Street, while a home on Nohea Street was being threatened.

At least 700 homes across several subdivisions have been destroyed since Kilauea began erupting along the lower East Rift Zone on May 3.

Lava from fissure 8 has been feeding a fast-moving flow heading northeast to the ocean at Kapoho. A flow moving around the west side of Kapoho Cone has proceeded to within a quarter-mile of the coast, HVO said.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Recovery Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends at the Keaau High School Gym. </s> Lava from the Kilauea volcano has destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii, a county spokeswoman says.

The destruction is the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month.

No injuries were reported in the area, which had previously been evacuated.

"We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night," said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County.

A morning flyover confirmed that lava completely filled Kapoho Bay, inundated most of Vacationland and covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots, scientists with the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Lava destroyed Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's second home in Vacationland, Ms Snyder said.

County managing director Wil Okabe said his own holiday home in Kapoho Beach Lots was also threatened.

Mr Okabe said the area was a mix of holiday rentals and year-round residences.

"For us it's more of a vacation area, but for those who live there permanently, they're trying to figure out where they're going to be living," he said.

Thousands in the eastern district of Puna had to evacuate after lava fissures started opening in neighbourhoods a month ago.

Officials had issued mandatory orders for residents of Leilani Estates and those in Kapoho Beach and Vacationland to leave by last Friday or risk being trapped and unreachable by emergency crews.
Several more properties are destroyed as Kīlauea continues to erupt.