Volcanic eruptions at St Vincent’s La Soufrière volcano has declined significantly since the quake caused by the eruption and ash ejection a few days ago.
Researchers tracking the volcano report that just a few lengthy, hybrid, and volcanic eruption tremors have been detected in the previous 24 hours, with no more shocks.
According to the recent release from the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine Campus, there has been a decline in the general frequencies of lateral and vertical motion since the preliminary depressurizations (a reduction in pressure inside a crater due to the release of molten rock, gases, or liquids when in an exploding incident) having followed the April 9 eruptions.
“The volcano is still erupting. Its seismicity profile over the previous several days is indicative of lava arch development and disintegration. The SRC stated that eruptions with associated ash fall of comparable or greater size can happen with little or no notice, and that the crater is in threat level Red.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has stated that inhabitants of north St. Vincent, especially settlements north of the Rabacca Dry River, would be able to return home after the eruptions of La Soufriere has ended and the safe green signal has been issued.
Gonsalves remarked on government NBC Radio that there are some who believe the villages in the Volcanic Red Zone in the northeast and the northwestern Orange Zone should be evacuated and conserved for farming.
“North of the [Rabacca] Dry River, as far as I am involved, and as far as the ULP (Unity Labour Party) is involved, it is the spirit of our nation – Garifuna and Calinago and everything they symbolize. Likewise, Rose Bank, Petit Bordel, Fitz Hughes, and Chateaubelair have Garifuna residents,” Gonsalves stated.
The Garifuna are a combination of African and native population descended from St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Black Caribs. They have their own dialect, Garifuna, which is an Arawakan language.
La Soufriere burst powerfully on April 9, following three months of exuberant outburst, 15 hours after a warning order was issued, or only 4 days before the 42nd anniversary of its 1979 explosion.
Professor Richard Robertson, the chief scientist studying the volcano, is a volcanologist who believes the outburst might persist up to a year.
