Hawaii volcano lava reaches geothermal plant area
Honolulu, May 23: Relentless lava flow from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano which had erupted 19 days ago, has now reached the Puna Geothermal Venture property, Hawaii County's civil defence agency said.
The plant produces electricity by bringing steam up from underground wells and funnelling it to a turbine generator, reports CNN.
Officials are trying to prevent possible explosions or the release of toxic fumes by "quenching" most of the wells, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency spokesman Thomas Travis said on Tuesday.
Quenching starts with filling underground wells with cold water. So far, 10 of the 11 wells at the geothermal plant have been quenched, according to agency officials.
Travis said workers might also try to plug the wells, perhaps by filling them with mud and capping them with iron plugs.
Meanwhile, toxic sulphur dioxide gas is still spewing from cracks in the earth's surface after the eruption that took place on May 3 prompting massive evacuations from the adjoining areas of Leilani Estates and the adjacent Lanipuna Gardens located on the Big Island.
A latest eruption took place early Tuesday morning.
Residents "should be prepared to leave the area with little notice due to gas or lava inundation", Hawaii County's civil defence agency said.
Since Kilauea's eruption, rivers of fire have swallowed at least 40 structures, hurled lava through cracks in the earth's surface and devastated livelihoods, reports CNN.
The lava entered the Pacific Ocean on May 19.
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Indigo crisis: Shivakumar urges Centre to act immediately, bring situation under control
Bengaluru (PTI): With large scale flight cancellations by Indigo airlines leaving passengers stranded, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday urged the Centre to act immediately and bring the situation under control.
He called the IndiGo fiasco a the direct result of the govt's monopoly model.
Taking to social media platform 'X', Shivakumar said India is witnessing the worst aviation meltdown in its history. "Thousands of flights cancelled - leaving our people stranded everywhere".
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"The IndiGo fiasco is the direct result of the govt's monopoly model. And as always, it is ordinary Indians who are paying the price," he said.
Shivakumar said that the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, which is India's 3rd busiest airport with nearly 40 million travellers a year, is in complete chaos.
"This is hurting families, businesses and our national reputation. I urge the Union Government to act immediately and bring this situation under control. Our people deserve better," he added.
Domestic carrier IndiGo cancelled over 800 flights on Saturday, the fifth day of the ongoing crisis, even as the government imposed a cap on airfares and directed the airline to process all refunds by Sunday evening.
