KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) – Leaders of volcano-devastated St. Vincent on Tuesday said water is running out as heavy ash is polluting supplies, and they estimate the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere.
Between 16,000 and 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, and more than 3,000 of them have stayed in more than 80 government shelters.
Dozens of people lined up on Tuesday for water or to collect money sent abroad by friends and family. Among those standing in a crowd was retired police officer Paul Smart.
“The volcano has caught us with our pants down, and it’s very devastating,” he said. “No water, a lot of dust in the house. We thank God that we are alive, but we need more help right now. “
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a press conference on local NBC Radio that St. Vincent will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption, but did not provide details.
He added that no casualties have been reported since the volcano’s first major explosion early Friday. “We have to try to keep that record,” he said. Gonsalves said some people have refused to leave the communities closest to the volcano and urged them to evacuate.
Falling ash and pyroclastic flows have destroyed crops and contaminated water reservoirs. Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewerage authority, notes that some communities have not yet received water.
“The windward (east) coast is our biggest challenge today,” he said during the press conference about the use of water trucks. “What we offer is a finite amount. We will run out at some point. “
The prime minister said people in some shelters need food and water, and thanked neighboring countries for shipping items including baby cots, breathing masks, and water bottles and tanks. In addition, the World Bank has disbursed $ 20 million to the St. Vincent government as part of an interest-free disaster financing program.
Adam Billing, a retired police officer who lived and cared for his crops on the land near the volcano, said he had more than 3 acres of plantains, tannias, yams and a variety of fruits and estimates he had more than $ 9,000 in crops.
“Everything that (means) sustenance has disappeared. Everything, ”said Billing, who was evacuated. “We have to look at the coming months, because it will not be a quick solution from the government.”
The volcano, which had experienced a low-level eruption since December, experienced the first of several major explosions on Friday morning and volcanologists say activity could last for weeks.
Another explosion was reported Tuesday morning, sending another huge plume of ash into the air. It came on the anniversary of the 1979 eruption, the last produced by the volcano until Friday morning. An earlier eruption in 1902 killed about 1,600 people.
“It’s still a pretty dangerous volcano,” said Richard Robertson of the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center. “It can still do serious damage.”
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Orvil Samuel, Associated Press videographer, contributed to this report.