A volcanic eruption rocked the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent on Friday for the first time in more than 40 years – reports have led to the evacuation of thousands of people.
The eruption of La Soufrière volcano, confirmed by the University of the West Indies seismological research center, sent ash plumes 20,000 feet into the sky, according to the local emergency management agency.
Heavy ash spread to communities around the volcano and eastward into the Atlantic, said Erouscilla Joseph, the university’s Seismic Center director at the university.
The volcano last erupted in 1979, and an earlier eruption in 1902 killed about 1,600 people.
There were no direct reports of victims on Friday.
“More explosions could take place,” said Joseph, adding that it was impossible to predict whether possible future explosions would be greater or less than the first.
The eruption followed mandatory evacuation orders for people living near the volcano.
Officials planned to place them on board cruise ships, send them to nearby islands, or take them to shelters elsewhere in St. Vincent that are outside the danger zone.
About 16,000 people living in the red zone will have to be evacuated for efforts that could be hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, Joseph said.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told reporters that people should be vaccinated if they board a cruise ship or if they are given temporary shelter on another island.
He said two Royal Caribbean ships and two Carnival ships would arrive by Friday.
Islands that have said they would accept evacuees include St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua.
“Not everything will go perfectly, but if we all work together … we will experience this stronger than ever,” said Gonsalves, those people who decide to seek shelter in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island chain of over 100,000 people be vaccinated.
Emergency workers have gone to Red Zone communities and provided transportation to safer locations, Joseph said.
“They know who doesn’t have transportation because all of this has been researched before,” she said, adding that those who board cruise ships would stay there indefinitely.
With an eruption coming late Thursday, the shelters filled as a series of car lights made their way to safer ground.
John Renton, a school principal in charge of a shelter, said they had plenty of masks and other personal protective equipment, but needed more baby cots.
During the conversation, he was interrupted by a phone call from a government official asking about preparations.
“We are overcapacity,” he replied, adding that the shelter can accommodate 75 people and was already full.
Scientists have warned the government of a possible eruption after noticing seismic activity at 3 a.m. Thursday that indicated that “magma was close to the surface,” said Joseph.
“Things are escalating pretty quickly,” she said of the volcanic activity.
The Eastern Caribbean is home to other active volcanoes.
Seventeen of the region’s 19 living volcanoes are located on 11 islands, the remaining two underwater near Grenada Island, including one called Kick ‘Em Jenny that has been active in recent years.
The most active volcano in the region is the Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, which has continuously erupted since 1995 and claimed the lives of at least 19 people in 1997.
With pole wires