By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia – A third explosive eruption is currently underway. It began around 6:35 pm Friday, April 8, 2021. We continue to monitor and update, says UWI Seismic Research Centre. This preceded the team that was out conducting fieldwork along the Leeward coast when “the second explosive eruption began. The ash plume has just begun to go higher into the atmosphere.”
According to the UWI Seismic Research Centre, “The team returned to capture the still ongoing eruption at the Belmont Observatory. It continued t be fed by successive pulses.”
Meanwhile, prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit, said: “I believe we have a duty and obligation to extend empathy to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines,” has identified the Moroccan Hotel, and other private properties in Portsmouth, to accommodate residents of St Vincent and the Grenadines if required for up to five months.
Approximately, 20,000 residents will have to be evacuated from destructive elements of the La Soufriere Volcano – 12,000 of which will be accommodated in shelters in St Vincent and The Grenadines and 7,000 throughout the region, at a time of COVID-19 concerns and the needs for vaccines.
Saint Lucia is said to be “preparing to receive 300 Vincentian evacuees” using a mixture of residential and hotel options while excluding ‘emergency shelters’.
“We do have hotels that remain unaccommodated at this point. We are using those as a backup. We are hoping that we can work with the cruise lines to allow the ship to remain in port for a couple of days,” prime minister Allen Chastanet said, at a news conference, on Friday.
Meanwhile, Saint Lucia has begun to feel the effects of volcanic ash, low clouds and intense sulphuric aroma; ‘gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide, combine with water vapour in the atmosphere to form Sulphurous and Sulphuric Acid’ there are additional concerns of respiratory protections, that compound COVID-19 measures.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH):
- Stay indoors as much a possible especially for people with respiratory conditions;
- If you have to go out, ensure you are wearing a face-covering preferably a mask or damp cloth;
- Protect your eyes to avoid irritation;
- Keep your windows and doors closed where possible;
- Secure your water storage facilities to prevent contamination from volcanic ash;
- Ensure you have an additional supply of water in the home to last for least 3 days;
- Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consuming, and;
- If you have sensitive skin, cover where possible to prevent irritation.
And whereas the La Soufriere volcanic eruption can be classified as a public health hazard for Saint Lucia, concerns remain on aspects of – food production, water supply and national security.
With additional levels of concern, the region faces a medium to long-term natural disaster that requires, solidarity, leadership and coordination with member states of the OECS and CARICOM.
Director-General of the OECS speaks on collective action to support Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
