La Soufrière volcano dome continues to grow
The volcanic seismic activity in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has brought quite an alarm for surrounding Caribbean islands.
On December 29, 2020 the alert level for the La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines was elevated to Orange, because of increased activity at the site.
An Orange Level alert means that there is highly elevated seismicity or fumarolic activity, or both, and other highly unusual symptoms. At this level, professionals state that eruptions may occur with less than 24 hours notice, so the island must remain on constant alert.
The volcano has had an effusive eruption, with visible gas and steam eruption and the formation of a new volcanic dome. The volcano continues to exude magma on the surface and gas emissions can be observed from the Belmont Observatory.
A team from the UWI Seismic Research Centre is currently in St. Vincent to support monitoring and data collection and analysis and a drone has been monitoring the activity.
In a bulletin released on February 15, 2021 by the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, it was stated that the dome continues to grow, “with the most active gas emissions being the contact areas between the pre-existing 1979 and the 2020/21 domes as well as the top of the dome.”
A new seismic station will be set up along the volcano trail to further monitor the activity. NEMO has also been conducting frequent radio tests between Georgetown and the start of the volcano trail on the eastern side of the volcano to ensure that the evacuation measurements are effective.
A drive-through was conducted yesterday, February 16, 2021 in the Troumaca community to prepare the residents and inform residents on the current state of the La Soufrière Volcano and of the evacuation strategies NEMO has put in place.
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