Volcano Saint Vincent erupted, miles of smoke column above crater

The ash clouds drifted east to the ocean, according to disaster relief workers, but a lot of ash has also fallen in villages around the volcano. The director of a seismic center tells AP news agency that more eruptions could follow.

The volcano had been rumbling for a while. Yesterday a zone around La Soufrière was banned and thousands of people have been evacuated on the northern part of the island.

For the evacuation operation, the authorities used four cruise ships to transport people to surrounding islands such as Saint Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua.

Furthermore, people can choose to go to one of the shelters on the island.

Vaccination

The pandemic could slow evacuation, as Prime Minister Gonsalves has said that anyone who wants to get away on a cruise ship or move to another island should be vaccinated against corona. It is not clear whether there is sufficient capacity to vaccinate people who have not yet been vaccinated.

In addition, not everyone on Saint Vincent has a passport. Gonsalves has therefore asked other Caribbean islands to also accept ID cards. “Not everything will go perfectly, but if we all work together, we will get through this stronger than ever,” said the prime minister.

The archipelago of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with a population of about 100,000, had not seen any volcanic activity since 1979. An eruption of the La Soufrière in 1902 led to the death of more than 1000 people.

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