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WATCH: People are fleeing their homes because of this deadly lava

The lava is from the Kilauea volcano, and is flowing 17 metres an hour.

earthspace101 / YouTube

RED-HOT LAVA from a slow-erupting volcano has reached a home on Hawaii’s Big Island and is threatening an entire town.

The lava flow from the Kilauea volcano, burning everything in its path, had advanced some 90 yards (82 meters) in the past 24 hours towards the town of Pahoa, on the eastern tip of the island, officials said.

APTOPIX Hawaii Volcano AP AP

“The flow front is currently moving in a northeast direction and has entered a private residential property,” said the County of Hawaii’s Civil Defense force in an online update.

The lava flow had slowed since the previous day, averaging 5 yards an hour compared to 10-15 yards per hour, it said.

State of emergency

Hawaii Volcano The lava flow from Kilauea Volcano that began on June 27 nears the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. AP AP

Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi declared a state of emergency last month after the lava advanced to within a mile (1.6 km) of a residential area known as the Ka’ohe Homesteads.

Last week, Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration to unlock federal resources to help local emergency protective measures.

Associated Press / YouTube

As the lava threatens a main road in the area, measures needed include providing alternative routes and accommodating some 900 children that will be displaced by the lava, according to Abercrombie’s office.

Hawaii Island, or the Big Island, is the largest of the eight main islands which make up the Pacific US state — an archipelago that includes hundreds of smaller volcanic islands.

- © AFP, 2014

Read: Hawaii braces for back-to-back hurricanes heading towards it>

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    Mute Fergal McDonagh
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    Oct 29th 2014, 8:50 AM

    Hardly ‘fleeing’. Walking away at their own leisurely pace I’d imagine.

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    Mute Barney r
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    Oct 29th 2014, 9:40 AM

    Just dont have a nap on the way

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    Mute Dublinjonny_No.2
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    Oct 29th 2014, 8:49 AM

    Leave the kids and missus they would only slow me down

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    Mute Jenta deuto
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    Oct 29th 2014, 9:18 AM

    Would it not be possible to build a concrete reinforced gulley to divert the lava flow off course toward the ocean.

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    Mute family guy
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:32 AM

    Jenta can’t tell if your being sarcastic or serious? That would never work as lava cools as it flows and would block any gully/channel and the lava would eventually flow over itself

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    Mute family guy
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:35 AM

    Also your spending millions on something that would only be used maybe once in a hundred years, has to be maintained, would be an eye sore. There is a reason nobody has done it before.

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    Mute terayon100
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:59 AM

    Right, I’ll get Tommy Lee Jones on it straight away!

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    Mute SeanieRyan
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    Oct 29th 2014, 1:16 PM

    They saved a town in Iceland with something similar a few decades ago.

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    Mute Ian Aston
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    Oct 29th 2014, 3:02 PM

    Why is there nobody poking sticks into it?

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    Mute Smiley
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    Oct 29th 2014, 10:46 AM

    At the risk of sounding cynical, Kilauea isn’t doing anything it hasn’t always done. That’s how an undersea volcano came to be an island. Kilauea’s lava flows are always really slow, above ground, so there’s time for people to evacuate in safety. Stunning. Would love to visit.

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    Mute Kevin Higgins
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    Oct 29th 2014, 11:41 AM

    I reckon all lava is deadly

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