Kilauea Volcano: Hurricane Hector Could Complicate Things, Officials Warn

What’s worse than one natural disaster? Try two natural disasters. Kilauea volcano continues to erupt in Hawaii, and now the islands are in the path of a category 3 hurricane.

Hurricane Hector is on track to hit the Big Island of Hawaii according to CNN. With maximum wind reaching speeds of 125 mph, the hurricane is still a long way from the islands, approximately 1,360 miles out as of Sunday. At this far distance, it can still change directions and avoid the Big Island of Hawaii altogether, but the high speeds of a hurricane combined with the erupting Kilauea volcano is a concern.

“Hector is our first hurricane this year,” said Tom Travis, administrator of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, in a press release on Friday. “We want to remind the public we are in the middle of the hurricane season and we urge people to take the weekend to prepare their homes and families for impacts that could be felt statewide.”

The United State Geological Survey did provide a bit of good news about Kilauea volcano via Twitter on Sunday. It reported lava output from fissure 8, the main source from the volcano, is down. There are also fewer earthquakes and the last collapse event at the summit happened on Thursday. The agency views this as a sign that the magma from the summit is decreasing.

Kilauea started erupting back in May, and scientists were not sure when it would stop. Hurricane Hector will continue to churn out in the Pacific and could reach Hawaii as early as Wednesday although, by that time, it should start to weaken.

So far, lava from Kilauea volcano destroyed buildings and homes causing thousands to evacuate nearby areas, but in mid-July, a lava bomb from the volcano hit a nearby boat and injured 23 people.