A heartbroken family forced to evacuate when Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted have returned home to find their property perched dangerously on top of a massive 10-foot wide crack.
Noah Friend, his fiance Shantel Pacarro and their two children Naiah, 12, and Nainoa, 11, visited the property in the Leilani Estates Subdivision on Hawaii’s Big Island briefly on Monday.
They found the huge crack, which runs 500-feet through the backyard and directly under the home, threatening to swallow the property whole.
A heartbroken family forced to evacuate when Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted returned home on Monday to find the property perched dangerously on top of a 10-foot wide crack
Tiny cracks started to appear after the family were first evacuated earlier this month when earthquakes occurred as a result of the erupting volcano.
‘Every time we would go home it either grew in width or in length. With every tremor and every earthquake it’s opening up the crack even more,’ a devastated Pacarro told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
‘There’s a possibility the crack might get so wide the house could collapse and fall in.’
Her fiance Noah has lived in the home since 1991 and he inherited it from his father 13 years ago when he started his own family.
‘It’s just heartbreaking. There’s so many memories in that house. This is very devastating for our whole family, even our children. They grew up there. It’s the only home they knew,’ Pacarro said.
‘We’re all heartbroken.’
The huge crack, which runs 500-feet through the backyard and directly under the home, is threatening to swallow the property whole
Noah Friend, his fiance Shantel Pacarro and their two children Naiah, 12, and Nainoa, 11, found the huge crack on Monday. It had opened up considerably since they last checked on Friday
The huge crack stretches 500-feet through the family’s backyard, into their neighbor’s property and stops at the road
Cracks like the one at Noah’s property (above) have been opening up across the neighborhood and have already swallowed homes whole
The driver of this van got caught in one of the huge cracks that opened up in the Leilani Estates
Friend had helped his father build the home in the Leilani Estates when he was just a child.
‘My father-in-law, all his hard work and sweat… he wanted to pass it on to his son hoping that he would pass it on to his children,’ Pacarro said.
‘He’s hurting the most.’
The family were among the 2,000 residents to evacuate a few weeks ago when the volcano first erupted on May 3.
They took photographs and important documents with them, but left everything else behind.
Since then, the house has shifted about four feet and now leans to one side. The rest of their belongings have been destroyed by sulfur dioxide as a result of the eruptions.
Lava spews from Kilauea’s East Rift Zone on Wednesday as it continues to cause damage to the Pahoa region
The volcano has opened more than 20 vents in the ground that have released lava, sulfur dioxide and steam
This shows a comparison of the Leilani Estates subdivision shows just how much damage the erupting volcano has caused. The left picture was taken in 2017 and the right image was captured on Wednesday
About 2,000 people have had to evacuate from Leilani Estates and surrounding neighborhoods since the eruption began on May 3
Fissures continued to spew lava in the Leilani Estates subdivision on Tuesday – weeks after the volcano first erupted on May 3
Scientists captured these rare images of the volcano producing methane and ‘eerie’ blue flames as a result of burning lava beneath the ground
This Wednesday photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the active fissure complex near Pahoa, Hawaii
Their neighbor Tam Hunt shared footage on Facebook of the huge crack threatening to swallow the home.
Hunt’s home is still in tact but the crack also runs through his yard, which means he will never be able to live there again.
He only bought the home last year.
‘I knew it was covered by lava hundreds of years ago, but I didn’t expect it to happen a year after I bought my home,’ Hunt said.
‘You’re playing the odds. I’m in this weird limbo state where my house is not destroyed but I can’t use it. It’s a weird place to be in. Everybody’s trying to figure out how to rebuild and how to recover from this.’
A family friend have started a GoFundMe page for the family of four to help cover costs.
Lava spews in Kilauea’s East Rift Zone on Wednesday amid eruptions from the Kilauea volcano
Lava spews high into the air in the Leilani Estates area near Pahoa, Hawaii in this Wednesday May 23 photograph
Lava spewed from the volcano’s East Rift Zone on Wednesday just feet from people’s homes in Pahoa
Hawaii County has ordered about 2,000 people to evacuate from Leilani Estates and surrounding neighborhoods since the eruption began on May 3.
The volcano has opened more than 20 vents in the ground that have released lava, sulfur dioxide and steam. The lava has been pouring down the flank of the volcano and into the ocean miles away.
The eruption has destroyed 50 buildings, including about two dozen homes. One person was seriously injured after being hit by a flying piece of lava.
Scientists managed to capture rare images of blue flames burning from cracks in the pavement as the Kilauea volcano gushes fountains of lava in the background.
Volcanos produce methane when hot lava buries and burns plants and trees. The gas flows through the ground and up through existing cracks.
The methane can seep through cracks several feet away from the lava. It can also cause explosions when it’s ignited while trapped underground.
Lava gushes from a fissure eruption of the Kilauea Volcano in the Leilani Estates. Hawaii County has ordered about 2,000 people to evacuate from Leilani Estates and surrounding neighborhoods
A U.S. National Guard soldier (right) takes photos as lava erupts and flows from a Kilauea volcano fissure in Leilani Estates
Gabe Humphries films lava as it shoots from a fissure during the eruption of the Kilauea Volcano near Pahoa, Hawaii
Officials said Wednesday thaty lava spatter from the erupting volcano is creating a wall that’s helping protect a nearby geothermal plant.
U.S. Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall said lava erupting from a vent closest to Puna Geothermal Venture is shooting higher than lava coming out of other vents.
She says it’s also producing the highest lava wall, which is blocking molten rock from flowing north toward the plant.
Residents have been concerned about hazards if lava flowed over the plant’s facilities or if the molten rock heated chemicals at the plant. Officials shut down Puna Geothermal shortly after Kilauea began erupting.