Air Quality Reduced
Eruptions Continue At La Soufriere
Heavy Ashfall Blankets The Island More Expected On Saturday
St Vincent’s La Soufriere Turned Explosive On Friday 9th April Sending Ash Plumes 8km Into The Air At 8.41 Am.
(By Ernesto Cooke) – The pungent smell of sulphur and ash permeates the atmosphere over the Caribbean island of St Vincent as eruptions continue at the La Soufriere volcano.
With continued eruptions on Friday night, Saturday morning on the island of over 110,000 residents looked like a winter wonderland, albeit blanketed by ash.
The ash can be seen at 7 am, still falling, making visibility almost non-existent in some communities on the island.
Ashfall remains heavier in the red zones, while as far south to capital Kingstown, it gave the appearance of a thin haze of dust.
On Saturday 10th April, Geologist Richard Robertson said overnight, the tremors have generated energetic venting and continuous ash.
Ash plume with a bigger pulse having an explosive component was also observed and Vincentians could expect more ashfall today.
In a Facebook post, St Vincent’s Health Ministry said exposure to volcanic ash could irritate the eyes and the respiratory system.
The Ministry further stated that When you breathe in air contaminated with ash, the particles can irritate the airways, causing them to contract more frequently.
For persons, especially those with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma or other chronic lung conditions, exposure to ash may pose serious health risks, the release stated.
Cracks Mysteriously Appear On Roadways In Biabou
Residents in the community of Biabou have reported to News784 that cracks have begun to emerge in various parts of the road.
Villagers explained that these cracks had come about overnight; they were reported at 6 am on Saturday, 10th April.
News784 could not ascertain any information from officials about what may have caused cracks to appear suddenly.
We will follow this development and update it in a later post.
More Eruptions
Vincentians should prepare for more explosive eruptions and heavy ashfall as ongoing explosive eruptions and periods of significant output of ash above the volcano Continue.
The first explosive eruption of La Soufriere since it rumbled back into life in November 2020 was recorded at 8.41 am Eastern Caribbean Time on Friday 9th April.
Geologist Richard Robertson said at 2.45 – continuous pulsing of ash, gas and steam feeding each other created a large explosion sending a plume of ash up to 51 000 feet into the atmosphere on Friday 9th April 2021.
The volcano has cleared a path to release more gas and steam, more breaking of rocks from the 79 dome is still ahead, Robertson said.
Evacuation
Evacuation of residents from the Red and Orange Zones to the safe zones continued on Friday 9th April. Seventy-six shelters with more than 2000 occupants are now fully operational on the island.
