Saint Vincent endured another night of explosions, ash falls and earthquakes, while the eruption of La Soufriere volcano entered its fourth day.
The latest explosion occurred today at 4.15 am, with a pyroclastic flow on the sides of the volcano.
Earlier, Dr. Erouscilla Joseph, director of the UWI Seismic Research Center, said that as of 8:00 a.m. Sunday, the ash continued to evacuate, with occasional volcanic tectonic tremors.
This type of tremor is associated with magma forcing its way through the rock.
She said there were no confirmed pyroclastic density currents (pyroclastic flows) on Sunday.
These are streams of ash and super-heated debris, which embrace the ground, can travel at speeds of hundreds of meters per second, reaching tens to hundreds of kilometers from the source and can travel at speeds of over 80 kilometers per hour.
Joseph said observers reported a lahar on the Rabacca Dry River on the outskirts of Georgetown, a red-light community.
The fall of the ash is the largest and most dangerous volcanic hazard, and the impact may persist for years after that. Photo credit: Prof. Robertson, UWI-SRC.
She said it probably happened when there was precipitation on the top of the volcano.
A lahar is composed of a sludge of pyroclastic material, rock debris and water, and in 1979, this violent mudslide devastated some areas at the foot of La Soufriere.
More than 16,000 people in the country have moved out of the Red Zone last Monday, when the government ordered the forced evacuation.
Even more fled on Sunday as the explosions continued and fear rose over potential catastrophic pyroclastic flows, similar to the 1902 La Soufriere eruption, when more than 1,600 died.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonzalves said no deaths or major injuries were reported this morning, but some people were leaving the Red Zone, choosing to stay behind to deal with crops and animals.
Pyroclastic flows contain a high-density mixture of hot lava blocks, pumice stone, ash and volcanic gas. It moves at very high speeds on volcanic slopes, usually following the valleys.
With fragments of stone ranging from ash to boulders traversing the ground at speeds usually greater than 80 km per hour, pyroclastic flows knock down, crush, bury or transport almost all objects and structures in their path. Extreme temperatures of rocks and gases in pyroclastic flows, between 200 ° C and 700 ° C, can ignite fires.
Nothing can survive.