The Sleeping Giant Wakes: St. Vincent Volcano Erupts
Here’s the story
La Soufriere, an active volcano on the island of St. Vincent, erupted Friday, April 9, waking from its over 30-year slumber and forcing hundreds to evacuate. It has been erupting periodically ever since, throwing tons of rock and ash thousands of feet into the air. Nearly a quarter of the 110 thousand residents have been impacted, and over 4,000 people are in local shelters.
To make matters worse, the volcanic ash isn’t really ash. It’s pulverized rock and glass as opposed to burnt timber, propelled into the air by the volcano, and is about twice as dense as wood ash. The ashfall cloud can travel for miles and has been affecting the nearby country of Barbados covering the sunlight with a perpetual overcast sky. Though the heavy ash doesn’t stay up for long, when it falls it builds up on top of homes and cars, causing buildings to cave in from the massive weight.
More volcanoes?
A little sidebar science, St. Vincent is one of the leeward isles along the Lesser Antilles chain of Caribbean islands. Nearly each of these islands has a volcano, which is a major contributing factor for the island’s existence. Another factor is the movement of tectonic plates. Between the volcanos and the hurricanes, it’s fair to say that living in paradise has risks that are not always expected.
What happens now?
Well, the United Nations is coordinating with nearby countries to stockpile aid. Didier Trebucq, the UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Caribbean, in a briefing with journalists said the main two priorities are providing water and shelter for those who have been displaced. For Americans in St. Vincent, the U.S. Embassy made an agreement with Royal Caribbean to evacuate them to Dutch Sint Marteen.
Experts expect the episodic eruptions to continue for some time. Moreover, the clean-up process will most likely take months while a full recovery could take years. For now, the surrounding islands can use this emergency as a test for their own response systems and be mindful that volcanoes don’t stay dormant forever.
