Former Kansas Citian Rabbi Rachel Short and her husband Kelly Short had to evacuate their home on the Big Island of Hawaii Friday morning, May 11, after learning of the possibility that the Halema’uma’u crater near where they live could erupt.
“They are saying Kilauea is going to blow, meaning our house would be covered in volcanic ash, and we aren’t willing to take any risks since I’m pregnant,” said Rabbi Short, who is also the founder of Ahava ‘Aina, a sustainable synagogue on the Big Island located between Hilo and Volcano National Park.
Volcanologists had been predicting for days that Halema’uma’u, which sits near the center of Mt. Kilauea, could explode at any time. The Shorts live in upper Puna and until Friday evacuations had been in lower Puna where, as of Sunday, there were 18 active fissures.
Rabbi Short said if Halema’uma’u erupts, it would be different than the lava flow from the mountain’s P’u’uo’o crater.
“It wouldn’t necessarily be lava; there would be volcanic ash and acid rain,” Rabbi Short said in an interview on May 9. “All the lava that was in (the lower Puna) crater flowed to the bottom of the mountain and that’s what’s been evacuated. That lava is now completely gone and the crater is bone dry.”
Experts have also predicted that large boulders the size of cars could spew out of the Halema’uma’u crater.
Until Friday, the Shorts had been living moment to moment following a magnitude 5.0 earthquake on the Big Island on May 3, which was followed by the eruption of Mt. Kilauea.
Rabbi Short said she had been putting important documents in the car and packing some bags so they would be ready if they had to leave. When the time came, they had their six cats and two dogs to round up as well. They were heading to the home of some friends when they left.
“You go with the flow when you live on an active volcano,” she said. “You just need to grab your husband and your animals and throw your stuff in the car. But my heart breaks for the people who had to go through this and had less than 15 minutes to evacuate.”
After the initial earthquake and eruption of the P’u’uo’o crater on Mt. Kilauea, residents were first told they were OK, the rabbi said. Then 10 minutes later there were police knocking on doors telling them to get their stuff and get out right now. Within a few minutes of that there was lava shooting 300 feet in the air. Rabbi Short described what that moment was like:
“I felt a massive earthquake that day, then ran outside and saw the giant pink and orange plume. I got in my car as quick as I could and just started driving. It sounded like gunshots and a war zone; you can’t even breathe or hear when you’re next to it. It’s very, very heartbreaking.”
At the shelters, where Rabbi Short had been helping coordinate relief efforts, she said you could see smoke and fog and a glow from the air; you could smell the hazardous sulfur dioxide; devious low clouds hung over the island that “looked like something out of a horror film.”
“The Hawaiians believe it’s Madam Pele (the fire goddess) doing what she does, and this is what she does,” Rabbi Short said. “They’ve always believed that.”
She said conditions have been changing rapidly. One day the lava had stopped in the morning and as she was driving down to the shelters, the phones went off, the lava started flowing again and two new fissures had opened.
Within a week following the first eruption, 36 structures had been destroyed and about 105 acres of land taken out by the lava. Approximately 1,000 people had been evacuated.
“I feel grateful that I’m connected in this community enough to have been able to arrange for people who didn’t have their own homes to go to other people’s homes,” she said. “And we’ve been fundraising and working with our state senator and our prosecutor, who are both on the board of our congregation, to raise funds and get things to people when they need them.
“I’m grateful I’m in a position to help.”
Drinking water is an issue at the moment, so they’re trying to get more bottled water. Many people catch their own water from the rain and because of the pollution in the air, that water is now undrinkable, Rabbi Short explained.
Shelters are in dire need of drinking water. They have, however, taken the community pool and turned it into a place for people to shower and bathe, she said.
Prior to the evacuations from the Halema’uma’u Crater, there were about 250 people in shelters. One man told her he grabbed a six-pack of underwear, a six-pack of shirts, his two cats and his dog and they’ve been in the shelter ever since. She said she knows his home is right next to where the crack is, yet he felt lucky just to be alive.
A couple she met at a shelter found out their home had been destroyed when they saw a video of it on the television news.
“I’m so unbelievably impressed with people’s attitude because there are 250 people with no privacy, sleeping on cots and you can’t even comprehend that everyone is still just so grateful that they’re alive and they have their pets with them,” Rabbi Short said. “It’s part of the price you pay when you live in a Garden of Eden and it’s still creating itself.”
Anyone who wishes to help in the fundraising efforts can go to Ahava ‘Aina’s website, ahavaaina.com and click on “Give.” Rabbi Short said 100 percent of the proceeds will go toward victims of the lava, helping them get the necessities they need.
“If people want to help even though they’re not local, it’s so appreciated,” she said. “Any support from the mainland or fellow humans is much appreciated; these people need it right now more than ever.
“We have to start thinking long term. This isn’t just going to go away if the lava stops. These people now don’t have homes to go back to. It’s a prolonged natural disaster; it will take months and months. Look at the destruction it’s already done in less than a week. All we can do is pray.”
On a positive note, Rabbi Short said Ahava ‘Aina has outgrown the synagogue and healing center on the Shorts’ land. The congregation’s board is making plans to build a permanent location in Hilo.
Rabbi Short grew up in Leawood and attended Shawnee Mission East High School. She is the daughter of Chuck and Sandi Cantor of Leawood and Susie Sachs Cantor of St. Louis.