Footage shows smouldering lava from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano swallowing car

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano continues to wreak havoc on a community, forcing hundreds of people to flee from their homes as lava spews from the ground, destroying everything in its path — including cars.

Video footage showed lava, covered in a black crust, scorching through a metal fence and oozing onto a road towards a parked white car in the Leilani Estates community on Hawaii’s Big Island on Sunday.

As the lava makes its way towards the car, the vehicle bursts into flames the moment the molten rock touches it. In a matter of minutes, the lava completely swallows the vehicle.

The footage is one of the examples of how powerful the volcano eruption is and why the area has been put under an emergency evacuation notice.

Kilauea is most active of the five volcanoes on Hawaii’s Big Island and has been erupting continuously since 1983.

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On April 30, the crater floor began to collapse, triggering earthquakes and pushing lava into new underground chambers that carried it toward Leilani Estates and nearby communities. Kilauea then erupted Thursday, shooting volcanic ash into the sky and prompting emergency evacuations.

READ MORE: Hawaii volcano eruption leaves former Vancouver resident shaken

Since the eruption, lava has spread around 36,000 square metres surrounding the most active fissure, though the rate of movement is slow.

There’s also no indication when this particular lava flow might stop or how far it might spread. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey expect the flow to continue until more magma drains from the system.

The Hawaii Civil Defense said 35 structures, including at least 26 homes, have been destroyed and a total of 12 fissures have formed.

No deaths have been reported.

— With files from the Associated Press