The island that has been colored gray by the eruption of a volcano: total evacuation order | the Chronicle

The situation worsened in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the small Caribbean country that was shocked by the activity of the volcano Soufriere. In the wee hours of Monday there was a new eruption, the most powerful in recent days, which released a huge amount of ash and gas.

The natural phenomenon “destroy everything in its path“As noted by the director of the Seismic Research Center at the University of the West Indies, Erouscilla Joseph. The scientist also recommended “leave immediately“from the island to the population who still have not paid attention to the evacuation orders.

So far, no deaths or injuries have been reported after the new eruption of Soufriere, which was much higher than the first Friday. Joseph He also claimed that the last explosion was equivalent to the one that occurred in 1902, which killed around 1,600 people.

Videos posted on social media reveal the large amount of ash that stains the roads, houses and vehicles on the island of Saint vincent.

For its part, Richard robertson, a geology professor at the Seismic Research Center, said in a radio interview that the eruption destroyed the old and the new dome of the volcano, creating a new crater. “Everything that was there, man, animal, everything … is gone “added the expert, referring to the impact of pyroclastic flow.

Likewise, the ONational organization for emergency management (NEMO) warned that eruptions are likely “of similar or greater magnitude“Continue for the next few days.

Some 16,000 people living in communities near the volcano were evacuated Thursday by order of the government, which organized their transfer to cruise ships located on the coast. But an unknown number of villagers refused to mobilize. Remnants of ongoing explosions have also fallen on Barbados and other neighboring islands. Ongoing volcanic activity has also threatened food and water supplies.