KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – La Soufriere volcano released a massive amount of ash and hot gas early Monday in the largest explosive eruption ever since volcanic activity began on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent late last week, with officials concerned about the lives of those who refused to evacuate.
Experts called it a “massive explosion” that created pyroclastic flows along the south and southwest flanks of the volcano.
“It destroys everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press. “Anyone who disregarded the evacuation must go out immediately.”
There were no immediate reports of injuries or death, but government officials rushed to respond to the latest eruption, which was even larger than the first eruption that occurred Friday morning. About 16,000 people living in communities close to the volcano were evacuated Thursday by government orders, but an unknown number have stayed behind and refused to move.
Richard Robertson, of the seismic research center, told local station NBC Radio that the volcano’s old and new domes have been destroyed and a new crater has formed. He said the pyroclastic flows would have destroyed everything in their path.
“Everything there was, human, animal, whatever … they are gone,” he said. “And it’s a terrible thing to say.”
Joseph said the latest explosion is similar to that of 1902, which killed about 1,600 people. The volcano last erupted in 1979. Ash from the continuous explosions has fallen on Barbados and other nearby islands.
A government minister who toured the island’s northeastern region on Sunday said he had seen an estimated two or three dozen people alone in the Sandy Bay community, prompting Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves to urge people to leave.
“It’s time you left,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”
Emergency response officials warned they would arrest all those, residents or not, who had been caught in the red zone without police permission. Communities in the red zone are the communities closest to the volcano.
Two young men, Codrian Simmons and Rashon Charles, have been praised for their courage in the evacuation of some 115 people from communities in danger.
“The monstrous power of this volcano was an extraordinary experience,” Simmons told the AP, adding that the experience was traumatic and that people in shelters are begging for help and supplies, including water, dry goods, sheets and toiletries. “It’s heartbreaking!”
Continuing volcanic activity has threatened water and food supplies, forcing the government to drill for fresh water and distribute it via trucks.
“We cannot put tarpaulin over a river,” said Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewage authority, referring to the inability to try to protect current water resources from the continued falling ash.
He told NBC Radio officials are also trying to set up water distribution points.
Meanwhile, Gonsalves said government officials are meeting Monday afternoon to discuss food supply issues.
Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel told the radio station the damage was extensive in the northeastern region of the island, which he toured on Sunday. Forests and farms were wiped out, coconut, breadfruit, mango and soursop trees were destroyed, as well as plantain and banana cultivation.
“What I saw was horrible indeed,” he said.
Cots, tents, water tanks, and other essentials poured into St. Vincent as nearby lands rushed to help those affected by the eruptions. At least four empty cruise ships floated nearby, waiting to take evacuees to other islands who have agreed to receive them temporarily, including Antigua and Grenada. However, Gonsalves said he expects his administration to cancel the cruise ships, as the vast majority of people seem to be staying in St. Vincent for the time being.
The only people evacuated from St. Vincent on a cruise ship are 136 farm workers who are part of a seasonal agricultural program and were stranded on the island. The group was scheduled to fly to Canada, but their flight was canceled due to Friday’s explosion. They arrived in St. Lucia on Saturday and will board a flight to Canada from there.
Gonsalves told NBC Radio on Sunday that his government will do everything possible to help those forced to leave their homes in ash-filled communities.
“It’s a huge operation we’re facing,” he said. “It will be expensive, but I don’t want us squeezing … this is going to be a long haul.”
Gonsalves said it could take four months for life to return to normal in St. Vincent, part of an island chain that also includes the Grenadines. Most of the 100,000 inhabitants live in St. Vincent.
Among them is Ranique Chewitt, a 32-year-old salesman who lives in South Rivers, southeast of the volcano.
He did not have to evacuate, but said he is concerned about his health and water supply and has not left the house since the initial eruption on Friday morning: “I do get shortness of breath from dust and I am inside.”
The pandemic also complicates response efforts. At least 14 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since the outbreaks started on Friday, and everyone who goes to shelters is being tested. Those who test positive are taken to isolation centers. More than 3,700 people are in 84 government shelters.
The Eastern Caribbean has 19 living volcanoes, 17 of which are on 11 islands. The remaining two are underwater near Grenada, including one called Kick ‘Em Jenny that has been active for the past several years. The most active of all is the Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, which has continuously erupted since 1995, devastating the capital, Plymouth, and killing at least 19 people in 1997.