Trouble in Paradise: Kilauea's Lava Threatening Dozens of Homes on Big Island of Hawaii

Aimee Herd : Oct 28, 2014
Ralph Ellis, Paul Vercammen, Martin Savidge – CNN.com

"The flow does what the flow does."

(Pahoa, Hawaii)—Residents of the town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island no doubt feel pretty helpless when it comes to saving their homes, as a huge, menacing lava flow advances in their direction.

Kilauea Volcano has been erupting since 1983, but a new lava flow heading toward the community of 950 has been picking up speed, prompting the mayor to ask for a presidential disaster declaration and federal assistance.

In some cases, the superheated molten rock is chest high and has already swallowed up a cemetery, fences and roads. It was just 70 yards from the nearest home on Tuesday and flowing at a rate of about 11 yards-per-hour, according to the CNN report.

Resident Rod Macland told KITV-TV, "Everybody, including myself, is quite nervous. We can't see the future. The flow does what the flow does."

While most people have reportedly vacated their homes, officials had not yet issued a mandatory evacuation, and a few residents have chosen to stay.