St. Vincent Volcano Eruption Looms, Caribbean's Deadly Historic Blasts Serves as Warning for Immediate Evacuation

St.Vincent volcano sent heavy ashfall to rain down on parts of the Caribean Island of St.Vincent, Saturday enveloping the communities with the pungent smell of sulfur. All this taking place a day after thousands of residents were uprooted after the La Soufriere volcano's massive explosion and government orders to evacuate.

In December 2020, the volcano began to ooze gloopy mass of lava. At this time, the volcano posed no threats to roughly 110,000 residents of the Caribbean island. But, by the end of March 2021, things took a turn for the worst when the St. Vincent volcano began to shake in a way that experts believed suggested a more violent eruption was imminent.

Impending Danger of St. Vincent Volcano

St. Vincent last erupted in 1979; experts today warn that imminent eruption could continue for days or weeks on end. Its notable eruption in 1902 killed roughly 1,600 people.

La Soufriere is the youngest St. Vincent volcano, itself being part of 32 islands and cays archipelago. The volcano's eruptions are famed for their explosivity and lethality, according to National Geographic.

Jazmin Scarlett, a social and historical volcanologist in England, explains that the volcanoes magma type is basaltic andesite which is stickier than the magma from Kilauea in Hawaii and Iceland.

Richard Robertson, a geologist with the University of the West Indies, said in a press conference that the volcano's first bang isn't the biggest bang that it will give, Phys.org reports.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says in an interview with a local station that agriculture is predicted to be severely affected by the eruption. Experts also predict that some loss of animals will be unavoidable, but the Prime Minister comforts the public that they will rebuild what is lost.

According to Gonsalves, depending on the magnitude and damage caused by the St. Vincent volcano's eruption, it could roughly take 4 months before life returns to normal.

As of Friday, 2,0000 people have been displayed and staging in 62 government shelters while four empty cruise ships floated at the coast awaiting to take evacuees to nearby islands if need be.

The first explosion of the St. Vincent volcano occurred on Friday morning, a day after the government enforced mandatory evacuations due to scientists noting a type of seismic activity on the dawn of Thursday. The explosion shot ash columns roughly 33,000 feet into the sky as lighting crackled through the towering smoke.

ALSO READ: After 900 Years: Icelandic Volcano Erupts, Posing No Threats to Locals

Help Pours in For St. Vincent

A day after La Soufriere volcano's powerful explosion, help begun to pour into St. Vincent. Tents, respirator masks, and cots have been coming into the eastern Caribbean island for thousands of displaced evacuees residing in government shelters.

Various nations from Guyana to Antigua offered their assistance by sending emergency supplies and agreeing to temporarily open their borders to about 16,000 evacuees fleeing their ash-covered communities.

Prime Minister Gonsalves asks his people to remain calm and to continue protecting themselves from COVID-19. Evacuees staying in government shelters have been tested for the coronavirus. Anyone that turned up positive would be relocated to an isolation facility.

Gonsalves celebrates that no injuries or fatalities were reported as the volcano continued to ravage the community.

St. Vincent volcanic activity forced several flight cancellations, while extremely heavy ash falls limited evacuations in some areas because of poor visibility.

Experts warn that St. Lucia, Barbados, and Grenada could experience light ashfalls as the 4,003-foot volcano continues to rumble.

Experts have flown into the island earlier after La Soufriere had an effusive eruption back in December. Seismologists analyzed the formation of new volcanic domes and changes in the volcano's crater lake.

All in all, the eastern Caribbean islands have 19 active volcanoes, including two underwater volcanos near the Grenada islands.