The island of Saint Vincent has run out of water due to pollution from volcanic ash and will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the La Soufrière volcano eruption, Caribbean nation leaders estimate.
Between 16,000 and 20,000 residents have been evacuated from the northern part of the island where the volcano is located, and more than 3,000 reside in some 80 state shelters.
“We have to supply the people,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told a news conference.
No casualties were reported after the Friday morning outbreak and “we must try to keep it that way,” Gonsalvez said. He added that some people have refused to leave the area near the volcano, so he begged them to be evacuated immediately.
He estimated that the country will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption, although he did not provide details.
Ash and pyroclastic flow have destroyed crops and contaminated ponds with water. The island’s water minister, Garth Saunders, said there are communities without water.
Authorities are trying to send tankers, but “the east coast is the biggest challenge we have today,” the minister said at a news conference.
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“What we supply is a limited quantity, at some point we will run out,” he added.
The Prime Minister announced that some residents of the shelters needed water and food, and thanked neighboring countries for sending supplies such as stretchers, respiratory masks and bottled water. The World Bank has provided a $ 20 million interest-free loan as part of a disaster recovery program.
Adam Billing, a retired police officer who tended his crops at the behemoth, said he has more than 1,200 acres of bananas, sweet potatoes and other crops and has likely lost about $ 9,000.
“All my livelihood is gone,” said Billing. “We will see what happens in the coming months, this will not be easy to fix,” he added.
The volcano, which has been active at a low level since December, experienced the first of several major explosions on Friday morning and volcanologists say activity could last for weeks.
On Tuesday morning, another explosion was reported that sent another huge plume of ash into the sky. An eruption in 1902 killed about 1,600 people.
No effect in the Puerto Rico area
The National Weather Service in San Juan reported that the eruption of La Soufrière volcano is not expected to affect the area of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The hazy skies observed today were indicated to be the result of remnants of a layer of dust from the Sahara.Puerto Rico Metro