Seventy-nine (79) persons are still in emergency shelters across St Vincent and the Grenadines ten months after the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.
La Soufriere moved to an explosive stage on April 9 2021, sending its first ash plume some twelve miles into the air.
As of last Wednesday, acting Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel said 23 evacuees from North Leeward and 56 from the North Windward are still in shelters.
Daniel said the government is ensuring that these persons get back to the comfort of their homes as soon as possible.
Daniel also stated the Ministry of National Mobilization has 48 families under their care comprising 236 persons; he stated that they are in rented apartments.
The acting Prime Minister also had a word of caution for some persons who remain in shelters.
“There are some persons who remain in a shelter who believe that they will be getting new houses, but only persons whose homes are located in areas already deemed not fit for living will be accommodated for, which is about 68 persons”.
Daniel said over 600 houses were destroyed or had some form of damage that will be repaired.
“We have started work on levels one and two which are minor damages. However, we would repair levels 3 and 4 right where they are located”.
The UWI said on February 15, there had been no significant change in the deformation signal at the volcano since May 2021.
The Unit says the current activity is consistent with a period of unrest after an eruption. This can continue for weeks to months; while volcanic activity has declined, secondary hazards like lahars can occur.
The volcano is at alert level YELLOW.
