Saint Vincent Island is running out of water due to volcanic ash pollution and will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufrière volcano, the nation’s leaders in the Caribbean have estimated.
Between 16,000 and 20,000 inhabitants have been evacuated from the northern part of the island where the volcano is located, and more than 3,000 are housed in about 80 state shelters.
“We need to get supplies for the people,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves told a news conference.
No casualties were reported after the outbreak on Friday morning and “we must try to keep it that way,” Gonsalvez said. He added that some people refused to leave the area near the volcano, so he begged them to evacuate immediately.
He estimated that the country would need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption, although he did not give details.
Ash and pyroclastic flow destroyed crops and contaminated ponds. The island’s water resources minister, Garth Saunders, said there were communities without water.
Authorities are trying to dispatch tanker trucks, but “the east coast is the biggest challenge we have today,” the minister told a news conference.
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“What we provide is a limited quantity, at some point we will run out,” he added.
The prime minister announced that some residents of the shelters needed water and food and thanked neighboring nations for sending supplies such as stretchers, respirators and bottled water. The World Bank has granted a $ 20 million interest-free loan as part of a disaster recovery program.
Adam Billing, a retired police officer who cared for his crops near the colossus, said he owns more than 1,200 acres of bananas, sweet potatoes and other crops and has probably lost about $ 9,000.
“My whole existence is gone,” Billing said. “We will see what happens in the next few months, this will not be easy to fix,” he added.
The volcano, which has had low activity since December, experienced its first major explosion on Friday morning, and volcanologists say the activity could continue for weeks.
Another explosion was reported on Tuesday morning, which sent another huge ash into the air. A 1902 eruption killed about 1,600 people.
No effect in the Puerto Rico area
The San Juan National Meteorological Service reported that the eruption of La Soufrière volcano is not expected to have any impact on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It has been reported that the foggy sky observed today is due to the remains of a layer of dust in the Sahara. (Puerto Rico Metro)