(BIVN) – Tina Neal, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Scientist-in-Charge, describes the dramatic moment in May 2018 when she concluded it was “time to go”, and evacuate the HVO headquarters inside the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The facility, perched on the rim of the Kīlauea Volcano summit, was getting rocked by strong earthquakes and pelted by ash and debris from an explosive, and soon-to-be collapsing, Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Neal kicked off an evening of storytelling on the stage of the Volcano Art Center, where Volcano Village residents shared their personal stories about the recent eruption of Kīlauea Volcano. Big Island Video News was invited to record all the stories shared that evening, and we will be posting them one by one over the coming weeks.