St Vincent volcano: another 'explosive event.'
The La Soufrière volcano first erupted on Friday, blanketing the island in an ash layer and forcing some 16,000 people to evacuate their homes. The volcano had been dormant since 1979, but in late 2020 it started spewing steam and smoke and making rumbling noises. Scientists warn that eruptions could continue for days - or even weeks. Emergency officials described the landscape as a "battle zone" and said more damage and destruction was likely. The emergency management organisation Nemo: "Massive power outage following another explosive event at La Soufriere Volcano. Lightning, thunder and rumblings."
It later spoke of "possible destruction and devastation of communities close to the volcano". It compared the eruption to that of 1902, the worst in St Vincent's history when more than 1,000 people were killed. White-coloured dust has covered buildings and roads around the island, including in its capital Kingstown. Ash had begun to harden on the ground after overnight showers, and many homes were still without water and electricity. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said water supplies to most of the island had been cut off, and its airspace closed because of the smoke and thick plumes of volcanic ash moving through the atmosphere.
He said earlier that a lot of volcanic ash had fallen over the sea. "We don't know how much more is going to come out... so far; we have done well in that nobody got injured, nobody is dead.” The Barbados Defence Force has been deployed to St Vincent to provide humanitarian assistance as part of a disaster response mission, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said.
Homes across the island, which has around 110,000, have been covered in white-coloured volcanic dust and rock fragments. It prompted warnings from officials to stay indoors, while emergency groups advised caution for those suffering from respiratory problems. Residents in Barbados, nearly 200km (about 124 miles) to the east, have also been urged to stay indoors. People on the island of St Lucia, which is around 76km north of St Vincent, have been warned to expect air quality to be affected, with harmful gases potentially making it harder to breathe for people with asthma, the island's Rodney Bay Medical Centre said.
More than 130 people who were due to leave St Vincent for Canada had to be taken by ship to St Lucia on Saturday after becoming stranded when their flight was cancelled. Other Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Guyana, have offered to send emergency supplies to St Vincent. They also said they would open their borders to those fleeing the fallout from the eruption. The first sign that an eruption was imminent came on Thursday evening when a lava dome became visible on La Soufrière. Just before 09:00 on Friday (13:00 GMT), seismologists from the University of the West Indies confirmed that an "explosive eruption" was underway.
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