People who did not heed the authorities’ initial announcement to leave the area closest to a volcano on the Caribbean island of San Vicente fled in a hurry on Saturday, a day after La Soufriere volcano record a powerful eruption that shook the earth, threw clouds of ash and covered the island with a layer of fine volcanic rock.
Friday’s eruption, the first of its magnitude since 1979, transformed the island’s villages and towns into gray, sad versions of themselves. A strong smell of sulfur was inevitable on Saturday and the ash covered just about everything, seeping into homes, cars and even the nose, and obscuring the sunlight that makes this island such a popular spot among the tourists.
Chellise Rogers, who lives in the village of Biabou, which is in the St. Vincent area that is considered safe, said she could hear a continuous rumble.
“It’s exciting and creepy at the same time,” he commented. “(It’s) the first time I’ve witnessed a volcanic eruption.”
Scientists warn that the explosions could continue for days or even weeks, and that the worst is yet to come.
“The first eruption is not necessarily the largest this volcano will give,” Richard Robertson, a geologist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, told a news conference.
About 16,000 people were forced to flee the ash-covered communities with nothing but personal belongings they were able to put in suitcases and backpacks. However, so far there are no reports of deaths or injuries due to the initial or subsequent outbreak. Prior to the eruption, the government ordered the population to evacuate the high-risk area around the 1,220-meter (4,003-foot) high volcano after scientists warned that magma was approaching the surface. .
Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of the 32 islands that make up Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said in an interview with NBC Radio, a local station, that the population must remain calm, be patient and try to protect themselves from coronavirus. He added that authorities are looking to determine how to collect and dispose of the ash, which covered the runway of an airport near the capital, Kingstown, located about 32 kilometers (20 miles) south. , and which even extended as far as Barbados, about 190 kilometers (120 miles) to the east.
“Agriculture will be severely affected, we could lose some animals and we will have to make repairs to homes, but if we have life and strength, we will be able to rebuild it better, stronger and together,” the prime minister argued.
People who chose to stay in the area after the initial eviction rushed to do so on Saturday. A small number of ash-covered people left the area aboard small boats and then headed to parts of the island, which accounts for about 90% of the country’s total territory.
Nations from Antigua to Guyana offered either to send emergency supplies to their neighbor or to temporarily open their borders to the population who were forced to flee the area near the volcano.
The volcano, which had its last eruption in 1979, continued to roar as experts warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days and possibly weeks. Some 1,600 people died in 1902.
Gonsalves noted that, depending on the damage caused by the explosion, the return to normalcy could take up to four months. As of Friday, 2,000 people were staying in 62 government hostels, while four empty cruise ships anchored nearby were waiting to move others evacuated to nearby islands. Those who stay in government accommodation underwent coronavirus screening tests, and anyone who tests positive will be transferred to an isolation center.
The first explosion took place on Friday morning, a day after the government ordered the mandatory evacuation based on warnings from scientists, who detected seismic activity before dawn on Thursday which meant the magma was approaching. se on the surface. The eruption threw a column of ash more than seven kilometers (33,000 feet) high, with lightning crowning the huge cloud of smoke late Friday.
Volcanic activity forced the cancellation of several flights and ash limited evacuations in some areas due to poor visibility. Authorities warned that Barbados, Saint Lucia and Granada could receive a light ash shower as the 1,220-meter (4,003-foot) volcano continued to roar. Most of the ash is expected to head northeast, toward the Atlantic Ocean.
The Soufriere already had an effusive eruption in December, which led experts in the region to travel to the island to analyze the formation of a new volcanic dome and changes in the lake from its crater, among other things.
In the eastern Caribbean there are 19 active volcanoes, including two submarines near the island of Granada. One of them, Kick ‘Me Jenny, has shown activity in recent years. The most active is Soufrière Hills, in Montserrat, which has been in constant eruption since 1995, ravaging the capital, Plymouth, and killing at least 19 people in 1997.