Guatemala And Hawaii Volcanoes: How Do They Compare?

(CBS) -- Volcan de Fuego in Guatemala and the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii actually don't share much in common. Yes, they're both volcanoes, but, as CBS New York chief weathercaster Lonnie Quinn explains, Volcan de Fuego is a composite volcano and Kilauea is a shield volcano.

Volcan de Fuego, or "volcano of fire," looks like a typical volcano, steep and 12,346 feet tall. The eruptions are explosive, with ash blown about 47,000 feet in the air out of the main vent.

TOPSHOT-GUATEMALA-VOLCANO-FUEGO-ASH — The Fuego Volcano in eruption, seen from Alotenango municipality, Sacatepequez department, about 65 km southwest of Guatemala City, on June 3, 2018. (credit: ORLANDO ESTRADA/AFP/Getty Images)

That ash combines with hot gas and rocks to create a pyroclastic flow that can pour down the mountainside at over 50 mph. Think of it as a flash flood filled with rocks and ash speeding down the mountain at over 50 mph.

Outrunning it is impossible. People die when they can't escape it because it burns or destroys everything in its path. It eventually hardens into a dense mud.

TOPSHOT-GUATEMALA-VOLCANO-FUEGO — TOPSHOT - View of the damage casued by the eruption of the Fuego Volcano in San Miguel Los Lotes, a village in Escuintla Department, about 35 km southwest of Guatemala City, on June 4, 2018. - At least 25 people were killed, according to the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conred), when Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupted Sunday, belching ash and rock and forcing the airport to close.. (Photo by Johan ORDONEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Previous Coverage: At Least 190 Missing As Guatemala Volcano Smolders

Kilauea, on the other hand, is very wide but only around 4,000 feet tall. Most of the eruptions happened as lava traveled 30 miles underground, breaking through the earth at more than two dozen fissures.

Hawaii\'s Kilauea Volcano Erupts Forcing Evacuations — PAHOA, HI - MAY 12: A lava fissure erupts in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii\'s Big Island, on May 12, 2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii. The U.S. Geological Survey said a recent lowering of the lava lake at the volcano\'s Halemaumau crater Òhas raised the potential for explosive eruptionsÓ at the volcano. Authorities have confirmed the fissure is the 16th to open. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The lava has been fountaining about 250 feet high because the pressure is spread out. It has a consistency like maple syrup, traveling at under a half mile per hour. It hardens into a heavy rock.

Hundreds Forced To Evacuate After Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts — PAHOA, HI - MAY 5: In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, lava from a fissure slowly advances to the northeast on Hookapu Street after the eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on May 5, 2018 in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii. The governor of Hawaii has declared a local state of emergency near the Mount Kilauea volcano after it erupted following a 5.0-magnitude earthquake, forcing the evacuation of nearly 1,700 residents. (Photo by U.S. Geological Survey via Getty Images)

Previous Coverage: Hawaii Volcano Lava Destroys Hundreds Of Homes Overnight

One thing they both have in common? The danger isn't over yet. At Volcan de Fuego, if it rains, that is going to push the dense volcanic mud down steep terrain causing mudslides called "lahars." At Kilauea, the eruption continues. Scientists think they could keep going for another month or two.

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