Volcano eruption: St. Vincent’s government asks for patience to the population waiting to be evacuated

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has called for patience from the population in the area near the La Soufriere volcano that erupted yesterday, Friday, and welcomed the fact that so far no deaths or injuries have been reported.

Several neighboring nations such as St. Lucia, Dominica, and Barbados have already begun delivering material needed by many of the approximately 15,000 people residing in the area who are being evacuated, such as tents, mattresses, and other material that will be distributed throughout today.

Several cruise ships are waiting to receive evacuees to be transferred to other nearby countries, and almost 2,000 people are staying in more than 60 shelters set up by local authorities.

Speaking today to local radio station NBC Radio, Gonsalves called for “calm” and “patience” from those affected, as well as insisting on the need to protect themselves and not to forget that the island -with some 110,000 inhabitants-, like the rest of the world, is immersed in the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, an attempt has been made to test all those who have accessed the shelters.

At the same time, Gonsalves pointed out that agriculture in the area, one of his main activities, will be “seriously affected” by what happened. He warned that, despite the damage, also in housing, “if we have strength and life, we will rebuild everything, and we will come out stronger.”

La Soufrière volcano erupted this Friday for the first time since 1979 and throughout the day recorded up to three volcanic explosions, with columns of ash and smoke of up to six kilometers high. Due to the wind direction since yesterday, a large part of the ash in the air is heading towards the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast.

The volcano started to become active again last December. La Soufriere had last erupted on the second Friday of April, 1979; coincidentally, yesterday was the second Friday of April 2021.