Explosive eruption rocks volcano on Caribbean’s St. Vincent

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico —  An explosive eruption from La Soufriere volcano rocked the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Friday after the government ordered thousands to evacuate their homes nearby.

Experts said that the ash column was about 20,000 feet high and that most of the ash was headed northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.

Heavy ashfall also was reported in communities around the volcano and beyond, with authorities saying some evacuations were limited by poor visibility.

Several flights also were canceled and islands including Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada prepared for light ashfall as the 4,003-foot volcano continued to rumble. Authorities reported two smaller explosions later Friday as the island braced for possible additional activity.

“More explosions could occur,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center, said in a phone interview, adding that it was impossible to predict whether they might be bigger than the previous ones.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the eruption that occurred four days short of the 42nd anniversary of the last sizable eruption.

In the coastal town of Barrouallie, about nine miles from the volcano, evacuees trudged toward shelters carrying backpacks, duffel bags and shopping bags stuffed with personal belongings after the explosion. Some prepared to stay there, while others were expected to board cruise ships or go to nearby islands that have offered help.

Others still waited for transportation to a shelter, including one family who stood for at least an hour by the side of a road under the sun with their children and suitcases as they awaited a ride from someone.

The volcano last erupted on April 13, 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed about 1,600 people.

The latest eruption occurred after mandatory evacuations orders were issued Thursday for the roughly 16,000 people who live in the red zone near the volcano in the island’s northern region. More than 2,000 people were staying in 62 government shelters.

“We have had hiccups here and there ... but by and large we are proceeding pretty well,” St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said at a news conference. He later wiped tears from his eyes while he thanked people and other governments in the region for opening their homes and countries to St. Vincentians.

“On the dangerous road to Jericho, we have the good Samaritans,” he said.

He said that depending on the damage done by the explosion, it could take up to four months for things to return to normal.

As dozens of people streamed toward safer ground, officials worried the pandemic could hamper evacuation efforts.

Gonsalves said people have to be vaccinated if they board a cruise ship or are granted temporary refuge on another island. He said two Royal Caribbean cruise ships and two Carnival cruise ships arrived Friday. Islands that have said they would accept evacuees include St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua.

He said he was talking to Caribbean governments to accept people’s ID cards if they don’t have a passport.

“This is an emergency situation, and everybody understands that,” he said.

Gonsalves said he recommends that those who opt to go to a shelter in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island chain of more than 100,000 people, be vaccinated. Authorities said that those staying in shelters would be tested for the coronavirus and that anyone who tests positive would be taken to an isolation center.

Emergency management teams have been going out to communities in the red zone and providing transportation to safer locations, including prearranged shelters, according to Joseph.

By late Thursday, shelters were filling up as a string of cars making their way to safer ground twinkled through the darkened mountains.

The government warned of water shortages given that people were stocking up after the alert was issued.

Scientists alerted the government about a possible eruption after noting a type of seismic activity at 3 a.m. Thursday that indicated “magma was on the move close to the surface,” Joseph said.

A team from the seismic center arrived on St. Vincent in late December after the volcano had an effusive eruption. Team members have been analyzing the formation of a new volcanic dome, changes to its crater lake, seismic activity and gas emissions, among other things.

Seventeen of the eastern Caribbean’s 19 live volcanoes are located on 11 islands, with the remaining two underwater near Grenada, including one called Kick ’Em Jenny that has been active in recent years.

The region’s most active volcano in recent years has been Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, which has erupted repeatedly since 1995, destroying the capital of Plymouth and killing at least 19 people in 1997.