The ash plume reached up to six kilometers in the air.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Lots of St. Vincent remains covered in ash after eruptions at the volcano La Soufriere on the island.
After nearly 42 years without an explosion, the volcano erupted in the northern part of the eastern Caribbean island on Friday.
“There were three explosive events that took place during the day,” said Dr. Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, said in an audio statement on the center’s Facebook page.
According to official estimates, the ash plume reached up to six kilometers in the air, with winds reaching it up to 25,000 feet east of St. Louis. Vincent took.
The activity at the volcano continued until Saturday, while Vincentians lived close enough and reported that noises from La Soufriere could be heard overnight.
“Overnight, we had more or less an almost continuous period of exporting a lot of ash into the atmosphere,” Richard Robertson, chief scientist at the UWI’s seismic research center, watched the volcano on Saturday during a national radio address.
The premier of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, reported that some homes were damaged by the weight of the ash, but he also said the reports have yet to be confirmed.
Officials are now trying to figure out how to remove the ash.
During the radio address on Saturday, Gonsalves announced plans to launch a clean-up operation in Kingstown, the capital of St. Gallen. Vincent and the Grenadines, begin.
“It’s a complicated business, you can ‘t leave it,” Gonsalves said. “But if you have it available, you have challenges.”
Officials were looking for the use of street sweepers and water from fire trucks.
Friday’s eruptions occurred less than 24 hours after Gonsalves ordered people living closest to the volcano – an area declared the “red zone” – to evacuate their homes.
Shelters were set up to house evacuees, while the government also booked hotel rooms for people to take shelter. More than 3,200 people chose to use shelters.
Gonsalves said there could be delays in getting food supplies to evacuees into shelters, with the numbers constantly changing.
Gonsalves asked those affected by the eruption of the volcano to be patient and stay calm, saying ‘additional supplies’ would be sent.
Some countries have also publicly promised to send supplies or even personnel to St. Vincent to help with recovery efforts. Gonzalves said the United States is one of the countries that Gonsalves said he spoke to.
A number of neighboring countries in the Caribbean have offered to take in evacuees. Several cruise ship companies also offered to send ships to transport the evacuators to other islands.
“The lands are not going to take you unless you are vaccinated, which is understandable at the time of the pandemic,” Gonsalves said.
The last time the volcano of St. Vincent’s La Soufriere outbreak was on April 13, 1979. On Friday, around 8:41 local time, officials confirmed the first explosive eruption since. Later that day, two more outbreaks occurred.