Over 20,000 Residents Displaced as the Volcano Continues to Erupt in St. Vincent

A big part of St. Vincent remains buried under ash after more eruptions rocked the Caribbean island on Wednesday. Eruptions from the La Soufriere volcano on the northern part of the island, have displaced about 20,000 people, 4,000 of them are living in shelters around the island, government officials reported on Wednesday. 

 A report was made on Facebook which stated that explosions and the accompanying ashfall, of the same or bigger magnitude, might continue to occur over the next few days. There are residents who were forced to evacuate their homes because they were just outside the red zone.

Now they’re exhausted, both mentally, physically and just trying their best to keep it together.

 The street is now covered with ash in the Red Zone.  Residents are trying to stay indoors as much as possible so they can avoid inhaling the smell from all the debris.

The eruptions started on Friday evening and now the ash is spreading throughout St. Vincent and it has also reached the neighbouring islands such as Barbados and the Grenadines. 

St Vincentians there are facing the terrible situation with a great deal of uncertainty and a humanitarian crisis is growing which might continue for a long time. They are not only concerned about the sporadic eruptions, but the water and hygiene supply shortages, because the problems they have with the Covid-19 pandemic makes their situation more challenging.

The U.S. Embassy in Barbados is making plans with the Royal Caribbean Cruises for a maritime evacuation of citizens from the US, they will leave St. Vincent and go to St. Martin on Friday. They will start boarding at 7 a.m. and there is no cost for travel for the evacuation; the U.S. State Department reported during a press release. U.S. citizens who plan to stay in St. Vincent should remain in shelters or other safe places as there will be no more plans made to assist them after this. 

In Georgetown St Vincent residents can be seen clearing ash from rooves after a series of eruptions from La Soufriere volcano which caused the area to be covered. 

The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season is less than two months away and reports are stating that it might be active with 17 named storms and eight forecasted hurricanes, with four of them that could become major hurricanes which may cause more disasters for the region in the near future.

The authorities and the residents on the island have already begun to run out of food and water as the crisis continues to get worse.

According to the latest reports, the ash from the volcano has gotten into the water supply.