Over 400 people leave La Soufriere volcano emergency shelters
The number of people staying in emergency shelters following the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines is expected to decrease as more citizens return to their homes.
The green light was given for residents of Chateaubelair and Fitz Hughes, who were affected by the volcano, to return to their homes on July 23.
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says nearly 400 people have moved out, and the numbers at the shelters are expected to dwindle and drop to around 1,600.
He says some shelters might even be able to close.
However, Gonsalves notes the humanitarian work is still ongoing as there are still persons staying in shelters, private homes, guesthouses, and hotels.
In addition, the prime minister says the island’s Physical Planning Unit continues to demarcate the areas, especially north of the dry river where houses should not be built in the future.
Meanwhile, Dr Erouscilla Joseph, a lead scientist monitoring the La Soufriere volcano, detected only 11 events as of Sunday.
Joseph says there have been no new alerts by NASA FIRMS hotspots, but the team in SVG knows the deposits are still hot, and it will take some time to cool.
On July 22, a boat traverse was done to measure the SO2 flux, which was only 233 tonnes per day.
She says La Soufriere continues to be in the same post-eruptive pattern.
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