Caribbean: New eruption of the Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the alert level has been raised to the Orange stage!

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A new eruption occurred at the Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Monday, December 28. The orange alert has been triggered, which is the third level of alert on a scale of four.

On December 28, residents living near the volcano reported that steam was coming from the crater, prompting the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) to send teams to investigate the volcano. At the same time, satellite observations confirmed thermal emissions at the crater level.

The NEMO team arrived on December 29, confirming that a new effusive eruption has started. Essentially, the magma is slowly coming from the earth, building a new lava dome.

The alert level rose to the Orange stadium (3 out of 4) on December 30.

The towns of Fancy and Georgetown are now in the very high risk zone - red zone. This means that these communities will have to evacuate in the event of an eruption or impending eruption.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago authorized three UWI-SRC staff, including volcanologist Richard Robertson, to visit the volcano yesterday, bringing additional instruments with them to enable them to monitor the volcano.

Robertson said the growing mass in the volcano's crater is similar to that which developed in 1971/1972.

“We want to monitor the rate at which [the dome] is increasing in size because as it expands one of the types of risk is that it can spread into valleys and the nearest lip in which it is. may overflow is in the Larakai area, ”says Robertson.

While there is no evacuation notice at this time, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said residents north of Georgetown and Belle Isle should plan their evacuation at short notice if it does. became necessary.

No prediction can be made at the moment when the volcano will go from effusive to explosive stage.

Several hypotheses are under study. The eruption could occur within a few days to several months after the formation of the so-called satellite lava dome. It also formed very close to the one that preceded the explosive eruption of 1979. _AF

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