St. Vincent, located in the southern Caribbean, issued an evacuation order on Thursday after seismologists said La Soufrière volcano showed signs of imminent eruption.
The order of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves comes after several days of increased seismic activity, according to The guardian.
“It simply came to our notice then. Level 3 declared by the Prime Minister. The head of NEMO tells residents to “be ready, put things in order,” the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) wrote on Twitter on Thursday. Vincent.
Evacuation order issued by all residents living in the RED ZONES in the northeast and northwest of SVG by the honor. Ralph E. Gonsalves. All residents are asked to act accordingly, with immediate effect, to ensure the safety of themselves and their families. pic.twitter.com/fGCDivytPb
– St. Vincent and the Grenadines (@StvincentGren) April 8, 2021
The most devastating eruption in La Soufrière was in 1902, killing about 1,600 people, according to The Guardian. Its last eruption took place in April 1979.
Videos posted on social networks show smoke flowing on top of the volcano.
Officials on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean say a major eruption is imminent and they have ordered mandatory evacuations for those living near La Soufrière volcano. https://t.co/jdd4jrGhk9 pic.twitter.com/Q782PThJgA
– ABC News (@ABC) April 8, 2021
According to NEMO, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is heading to the island to assist in evacuation efforts.
The first Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrives tonight to help evacuate the St. Vincent and the Grenadines # svgeruption2021 #
– NEMO SVG (@NEMOSVG) April 8, 2021
The latest estimates from the World Bank show that St. Vincent has a population of over 110,000 people.
An increase in La Soufrière activity has been observed since November, reports The Guardian, researchers at the University of the West Indies (UWI) say they have detected a “swarm of small volcanic-tectonic earthquakes”.
“The earthquakes were located below the top of the volcano at a depth of 6 km. The largest event reached a magnitude of 3.5, which was felt by residents living near the volcano, “UWI added.