Extremely heavy ashfall rained on parts of St Vincent’s Caribbean Island on Saturday, and a strong sulfur smell enveloped communities, a day after a powerful eruption at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands who fled under government orders.
Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Guyana, provided assistance either by exporting relief supplies or temporarily opening borders to some 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities.
Large Volcano Eruption In 1979
The volcano, which last had a large eruption in 1979, rumbled and experts cautioned that explosions could continue for days or weeks. A 1902 eruption killed 1,600 people.
“The first bang isn’t usually the biggest bang this volcano can send,” said Richard Robertson, a geologist with the Seismic Research Center of West Indies University, at a news conference.
Conditions deteriorated overnight in near-volcano settlements as ash-coated houses, vehicles, and highways. The lush green scenery had turned dark and rainy, leaving people as they walked through the soot.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said NBC Radio, a local station, was trying to find out how to remove ash.
“It’s hard to breathe,” Gonsalves said, adding that although the volcano’s venting had reduced, a large ash and smoke plume persisted. “What goes up must descend.”
He urged people to stay calm and protect themselves from coronavirus as he celebrated that no deaths or injuries were confirmed after the eruption in St Vincent’s northern tip, part of an island chain that includes the Grenadines and is home to over 100,000 people.
“Agriculture will be badly affected and we could have some livestock loss and we’ll have to rebuild homes, but if we have life and have power, we’ll build it back better, stronger together,” he said.
Gonsalves said life could take up to four months to return to normal. Approximately 3,200 people stayed in 78 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated offshore, waiting to carry evacuees to nearby islands. Many in shelters were screened for Covid-19, and any positive result would be taken to an isolation center.
Explosions
The first explosion occurred on Friday morning, a day after the government ordered mandatory evacuations based on alerts from scientists who noted pre-dawn seismic activity on Thursday that meant magma was moving near the surface.
An ash cloud erupted over 33,000ft into heaven. Lightning cracked through the clouds late Friday.
In some areas, ash forced flight cancellations and poor visibility limited evacuations. Officials warned that Barbados, St. Lucia, and Grenada could see light ashfall as the 4,003ft volcano rumbled. Most ash should go northeast into the Atlantic ocean.
In December, La Soufriere had an effusive eruption, leading experts from around the area to study the formation of a new volcanic dome and improvements to its crater lake, among others.
The Eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, including two underwater near Grenada Island. One, Kick’Em Jenny, has been involved in recent years. But Montserrat’s most active volcano is Soufriere Hills. Since 1995, it has exploded continuously, razing the capital, Plymouth, and killing at least 19 people in 1997.
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