An active volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent threatens to erupt, local authorities warned Thursday, noting that they have ordered mandatory evacuations.
The island’s emergency management office changed the alert level to red and said a cruise will arrive after the evening to evacuate those living near La Soufriere volcano. At the moment it was not clear how many people would be evacuated, where the cruise would take them or if they would stay on board temporarily.
View of the dome at 14:00 local time taken @VincieRichie from the top cam. We continue to supervise and advise @NEMOSVG #svg # lasoufrière # volcano # still dangerous #uwi #uwiseimic pic.twitter.com/jgvw5YolJn
– UWISeismic Research (@uwiseismic) April 8, 2021
Authorities noted that in the evening you could see the glow of the dome of the volcano, which is located in the northern region of the island. The alert issued on Thursday came after days of seismic activity in the area bordering the Soufriere.
The last time the volcano erupted was in 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.