Vincentians are being warned not to visit the La Soufriere Bamboo range site and trail.
Speaking on NBC radio, Director of the National Parks Rivers and Beaches Authority, Andrew Wilson, said the area is still under rehabilitation.
He says the work in 2021 was primarily to give the scientists and the monitoring teams access to the volcano.
“Under the rehabilitation work, there has been substantial clearing and cleaning and trail path realignment. There are still critical works to be done to render the trail safe for hiking and recreational visits”.
Wilson stated that the site has to be officially cleared, by NEMO, with the necessary guidance from the UWI monitoring team, especially the summit.
Wilson said works on the area are expected to be completed this year as monies have been allocated in the budget and grant funding.
La Soufrière, a stratovolcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, began an effusive eruption on 27 December 2020. On 9 April 2021, there was an explosive eruption.
The first explosive eruption sent ash 32,000 feet into the air on 9 April. Five explosive eruptions occurred over the next three days, including one captured on multiple spectrums by a U.S. weather satellite.
The last time La Soufriere erupted in 1979, the eruptions continued for more than two weeks, and in 1902 the eruptions lasted for more than six months. Between April 9 and 20, the University of West Indies Seismic Research Center recorded at least 30 “explosive events.”
More than 23,400 people were evacuated from the affected area, though some chose to disregard the order and stay inside the danger zone.
