The La Soufriere volcano on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted for a second time in recent days as local officials grow more concerned about the threat to public safety.
The volcano released another large plume of ash and hot gas early Monday morning, which also reportedly generated pyroclastic flows down the south and southwestern flanks, The Associated Press reported Monday.
“It’s destroying everything in its path,” Erouscilla Joseph, the director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center, told The Associated Press about the flows.
Conditions in St. Vincent are worsening, as experts predict La Soufrière volcano will continue to erupt for days, or even weeks.
Officials are warning anyone still in the red or orange zones to flee.https://t.co/TP4Q24hrqp
— NPR (@NPR) April 12, 2021
Officials said that the latest eruption was stronger than the first eruption that occurred Friday, and that both the old and new domes on the volcano had been destroyed.
“Anything that was there, man, animal, anything … they are gone,” Richard Robertson, also part of the center, said about the active volcano.
The active eruption was reportedly affecting water and food supplies as ash continued to spread across the region. (RELATED: Indonesian Volcano Erupts, Sending Clouds Of Ash 16,400 Feet Into The Sky)
Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves stated it could take up to four months for life to resume as normal on the island, according to the Associated Press, and that water distribution points were being set up.
“It’s a huge operation that is facing us,” Gonsalves said about the task. “It’s going to be costly, but I don’t want us to penny pinch … this is going to be a long haul.”
Officials on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent say a major eruption is imminent and have ordered mandatory evacuations for those who live near the La Soufrière volcano. https://t.co/jdd4jrGhk9 pic.twitter.com/Q782PThJgA
— ABC News (@ABC) April 8, 2021
The volcano first erupted Friday morning, after being dormant since 1979, which forced approximately 20,000 people to evacuate the area.
The evacuations were first ordered Thursday, one day before the eruption, after seismologists determined that an eruption was “imminent” and the volcano was moving to an “explosive stage,” The Guardian reported Thursday.
The Hill reported Friday that the eruptions could last for weeks or months, and that cruise ships were being used to evacuate people to neighboring islands.