BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - EFFORTS are currently underway in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to have people from the south of the country evacuated to a safer location as La Soufriere Volcano begins to erupt.
At a press conference yesterday (Apr. 8) in Kingstown, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves confirmed that significant activity was occurring at the location and the alert level was raised to three.
By the end of the day, Dr. Gonsalves had given the decree for mandatory evacuation from the surrounding areas, which resulted in a long traffic jam in some areas, while in others people were frantically awaiting the arrival of government vehicles to have them transported from the hot zone.
According to reports, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St. Lucia have all acknowledged a willingness to accept residents, and the Royal Caribbean Cruise line has also pledged to send two vessels to the island to accommodate those in the affected areas.
In a media statement last evening, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre explained that scientists have observed a significant increase in activity at La Soufriere volcano which has prompted the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to raise the volcanic alert level to Red.
It was also reported that a team based at the Belmont Observatory in St. Vincent recorded six separate bands of volcanic tremor throughout the day.
“This new type of seismic event has not yet been observed since the beginning of the eruption in December 2020. This type of seismic signal is usually associated with movement of magma and fluids close to the surface. Ash venting was also observed during the most recent tremor episode,” UWI Seismic Research Centre stated.
Scientists warned that an effusive eruption is continuing and an explosive phase of the eruption may begin with very little warning.
“An evacuation order has been issued for communities in the Red volcanic hazard zone. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made the announcement during the second of two press conferences held in Kingstown today. The UWI-SRC Geologist and Scientific Team Lead, Prof. Richard Robertson indicated that ‘we cannot give any clear warning that nothing can happen within the next 24-48 hours and we would not be surprised if there are explosions at the volcano during that period.’”
More on this as the situation unfolds.
