First Serious Injury Reported From Hawaiian Volcano Eruption

It surprised me that people are hanging out close enough to the volcano to get hit with a splat of “lava splatter”. Reverence for Pele aside, I suspect I might have vacated earlier.

‘According to the spokeswoman, a homeowner was on a third-floor balcony when he  was hit in the leg by a piece of lava spatter, shattering the limb from his shin to his foot. 

Lava spatter can “weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces of spatter can kill,” Snyder added.’

And, I learned a new term: ‘laze’ (lava+haze):

“The Hawaiian Civil Defense Agency issued warnings for laze, which are clouds of hydrochloric acid laced with fine glass particles that are formed when the lava hits the ocean water. Laze can damage lungs, eyes, and skin.”

hydrochloric acid and glass particles….