La Soufrière volcano threatens to blow
St Vincent and the Grenadines ordered a mandatory evacuation of thousands of residents from its main island amid signs of an imminent volcanic eruption.
The dome of La Soufrière volcano, on the northern tip of the island of St Vincent, was spewing smoke and glowing red after days of seismic activity which the authorities said merited raising the risk level of an eruption to “red alert”.“This is an emergency situation, and everyone understands that,” Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister said.
Statement of Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana regarding the Looming Crisis in St Vincent and the GrenadinesApril 8, 2021
Having regards to the emerging situation in St Vincent and the Grenadines, this afternoon I called Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and assured him of Guyana’s full support in dealing with this looming crisis.
The Prime Minister and I discussed immediate support, which will be required in the response. The Prime Minister indicated that apart from the need to evacuate citizens, there were other emergency material needs.
I committed to him that Guyana, upon receiving the full list of their needs, would immediately put together a national response to supply the items and arrange for them to be shipped to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
At this time, we would like to assure the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines of Guyana’s unwavering support and solidarity.
‘Explosive’ Soufrière eruption sparks mass evacuation
Published
3 minutes ago
The volcano as it erupted
St Vincent
Volcanic activity on La Soufrière was first detected on Thursday, at which point Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves urged more than 16,000 residents in red zones to urgently evacuate. The volcano spewed ash 6,000m (20,000 ft) into the air.
It is the first eruption on St Vincent since 1979. The worst on record killed more than 1,000 people in 1902. As darkness fell , a lava dome became visible on La Soufrière, suggesting it was about to erupt. Just before 09:00 on Friday (13:00 GMT), seismologists from the University of the West Indies confirmed that an “explosive eruption” was under way. Evacuees were taken to cruise ships and safer parts of the island.
Most of the Lesser Antilles islands are part of a long volcanic arc in the Eastern Caribbean.
La Soufriѐre Eruption 2020/2021
Media Fact Sheet Thursday 8th April 2021
Background La Soufriѐre is the only ‘live’ (potentially active) volcano on the island of St. Vincent. The Volcano stands 1,178m (3,864ft) above sea level. There have been five (5) explosive eruptions at La Soufriѐre during the historical period: 1718, 1812, 1814, 1902/03 and 1979. Several effusive eruptions have also occurred at the volcano. In 1979, an effusive phase followed the initial explosive phase of the eruption. In 1971/72 an effusive eruption created a lava dome that existed until the 1979 eruption. The most recent dome building (effusive) eruption began on December 27th , 2020. Visual observations on December 29th, 2020 confirmed that high temperatures detected by satellites used to track fires were in fact caused by magma reaching the surface. Situation Management The effusive eruption is on-going, and the volcano is still dangerous. The effusive eruption may or may not escalate to an explosive eruption. Scientists are currently unable to say if or when this may happen given the inherent uncertainty associated with volcanic systems. Considering this uncertainty, the monitoring network has been strengthened to make it more likely that any signs of escalated activity will be detected, and sufficient warning be given to authorities. The Volcanic Alert Level is currently at ORANGE. The Volcanic Alert Level is set by the local authorities in St. Vincent & the Grenadines based on scientific advice from The UWI-SRC. The public is advised to stay away from the volcano particularly the crater rim where volcanic gas emissions are especially intense and can overwhelm one within minutes. During the dome building (effusive) eruption, the volcanic activity is limited to within the crater. As such, no communities in St. Vincent have been evacuated (at this time).