Just as everything seems to be falling into place, graduation, sunny nights, and more time with friends, in other areas things aren’t going so great. Recently in the Puna Community on Hawaii’s Big Island, the Kilauea volcano has erupted destroying more than two dozen homes.

This eruption has caused 1,800 people to evacuate their homes, authorities have warned people to stay out of the area because it is unsafe. The volcano erupted Thursday, spewing molten rock and high levels of sulfur dioxide. Cracks even started to emerge in the volcano’s East Rift Zone, an area where the volcano is splitting apart.

The large amounts of sulfur dioxide that has been released into the air is life-threatening. Breathing large amounts of sulfur dioxide could result in burning the nose and throat, and cause breathing difficulties.

Now, it’s not just the volcano eruptions that people must worry about. There have been frequent earthquakes after the massive eruption. “That’s the big concern for everybody on the island,” Ferrance said on Monday. The island had a 6.2 magnitude earthquake, and since then the Big Island has endured an average of one earthquake per hour.

Some of the residents were able to go back to their homes to retrieve pets, medicines and other valuable things. Even this quick home visit was considered dangerous.

“Please be aware that because of unstable conditions that involve toxic gas, earthquakes and lava activities, lines of safety can change at any time,” Hawaii Civil Defense said. “You must be prepared to leave areas if required.”

This eruption has caused many people to lose their homes and other valuable things. Most people have only seen things like this happen in movies, but this is not a movie. The only thing these people can do is wait until the lava flow stops on its own and hope that the homes they have created stay intact.