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St . Vincent & The Grenadines ’ La Soufriere Update
Excerpts from Montreal Community Contact
Being our brother ’ s keeper is just a part of our Caribbean tradition
Since April 22 , when there was a significant eruption at La Soufriere in St . Vincent , the volcano which for weeks had been spewing tons of smoke and ash on the island and some of its Caribbean neighbors has gone quiet .
But scientists monitoring the volcano are not ready to pronounce it sleeping as yet . They say although there ' s a different pattern in the activities leading up to the most recent eruptions , it ’ s still much too early to predict an end to the violent eruptions and tremors that have driven more than 20,000 Vincentians out of their homes .
Professor Richard Roberts the lead scientist of the La Soufrière Monitoring Unit told a local radio station in SVG that it could be weeks , months or even longer but there still no telling when seismic activities of some significance will cease .
“ I don ’ t think we ’ re out of the explosive phase yet . In terms of when it will stop … I think it will stop at some point but we don ’ t currently know how this volcano behaves , if it will go on for years , like in a Montserrat situation . It may go on for probably weeks , months , probably a bit longer than that , but it would not be indefinite . It will stop at some point ,” he was quoted as saying .
After months of warnings , La Soufrière erupted in a spectacular show of force on April 9 , accompanied by powerful tremors and spewing ash up to 10,000 meters in the air , darkening the skies across St . Vincent and in the neighboring islands of St . Lucia and Barbados .
Since then , scientists have identified up to 32 significant eruptions . The devastation unleashed by the volcano has plunged the island into a state of crisis , displacing families and destroying crops , roads and bridges . Up to 5,000 are reported to still be in shelters across the country .
Even as La Soufriere enters the quiet period , the island continue to experience the challenges of Mother Nature as days of heavy rainfall triggered problems of a different kind with the run off of flood water mixed with ash , rocks , fallen trees and other debris wreaking havoc as it makes its way from the mountains to the sea .
The human tragedy brought on by the crisis remains as pronounced as ever as the SVG government continues to house and look after thousands of families , while trying to rebuild . While the situation remains tense on the ground , countries in the region have responded and promises of assistance have been flowing from governments around the world .
Across the Caribbean , including Grenada , Venezuela and Cuba , governments have been outstanding in their response in helping the people of St . Vincent by rushing shiploads of supplies and water to meet the needs of those displaced by the volcano .