By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
kramkhalawan@caribmagplus.com
Residents on St Vincent and the Grenadines are concerned that the recent activity at the La Soufriere Volcano might be a repeat in history like in 1979, which occurred in April on Good Friday.
The latest reports from the National Emergency Management Organisation on the island says while volcano tectonic earthquakes continue to be recorded and be felt in villages, no evacuation order or notice has been issued.
Never the less, it is urging residents living in nearby communities to the volcano, to heighten their preparedness in the event that evacuation is ordered on short notice.
The organization has had to continue to appeal to the public to desist from visiting the site, especially venturing near the crater since it is extremely dangerous.
Activity has been ongoing since December 2020, prompting the UWI Seismic Research Centre to establish camp on the island for regular monitoring. Since then, the UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC) together with the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), have been working closely with an extended group based at the centres based in both Trinidad and Montserrat, with Team Lead as Vincentian Professor Richard Robertson, in keeping close tabs on all seismic and tectonic activity related to the La Soufriere.
History would state that prior to the Good Friday, April 13, 1979 eruption, there was at least 10 months of mild premonitory activity.
A strong earthquake the day before would trigger the activity resulting in a series of strong vertical explosions with plumes of ash, pyroclastic flows and mudflows between April 13th and the 26th. An extrusion of lava, would form the dome that formed the summit crater. But one can say that the 1979 eruption, while it caused much disruption, and 20,000 people were evacuated to shelters, there was no direct loss of life, something in itself seen as grace that came on a Good Friday.