Volcano Erupts in St. Vincent After Mandatory Evacuation

La Soufriere volcano erupted on the island of St Vincent on Friday, after about 16000 residents were evacuated from their homes.

The first explosion occurred yesterday in the morning after the Government had ordered mandatory evacuation because of the warnings that came from scientists who had noticed a type of seismic activity early Thursday morning which meant the magma was close to the surface and it was on the move.

They also warned that this activity can continue for days or weeks, and stated that the first bang was not necessarily the most powerful one the volcano will give. Plumes of ash was seen rising up to the skies.

Prime Minister Gonsalves told the people that it would be good if they could remain calm, protect themselves from Covid-19 and be patient. He was celebrating when there were no deaths to report after the explosion on the northern tip of the Caribbean island.

Neighbouring islands opened their borders to accept evacuees and cots, tents and respiratory masks were sent over. 

As of Friday, four empty cruise ships floated nearby and 2000 persons were staying in 62 Government shelters. They were tested first and those who were positive were isolated in a centre.

The eastern Caribbean has 19 live volcanoes, the most active one is on the island of Montserrat which killed 19 people in 1997. La Soufriere erupted in 1979 after it exploded and killed 1600 people in 1902.

There are fears that agriculture will be badly affected and it could take up to 4 months for life to be normal on the island again.

Learn more from the video below.