Alida Derrick Cordice has lived in Sandy Bay most of her adult life.

She was there when La Soufriere erupted in 1979, and last April, she had to flee from her home just before the volcano erupted again from April 9.

In her reflections on the eruptions, Cordice told SEARCHLIGHT that the 1979 eruption “was a baby” compared to the explosions of April, 2021.

She said if the volcano were a person she would have given it three commands.

“Be still.” “Behave Yourself,” and “Give us a chance.”

So fierce were the eruptions last year that Derrick Cordice likened the volcano unto a “beast.”

“That volcano is like a lion, yes a roaring lion,” the Sandy Bay resident stated.

The mother of seven remembers having had to evacuate her home on Thursday, April 8 last year after the evacuation order was given.

She, along with five other members of her household, was relocated to Gomea at the home of one of her daughters.

Prior to all of this Cordice had been keeping up to date with all the warnings about the volcano, so she already had a plan in place for her family.

Even before the evacuation order was given she had packed clothing and other necessary items and sent them to Gomea, so she found the evacuation process was relatively easy.

She recalled that while in Gomea on the morning of Friday, April 9 last year she heard the loud rumblings of the volcano.

“When we went outside, we saw the big clouds going up; the place was looking so dreary.”

To her, the experiences of last year were much worse than in 1979.

She was only able to return to her home to her home in Sandy Bay in January this year.

While many families had already moved back home, Cordice was unable to because her husband is a kidney patient on Dialysis.

The Dialysis unit at the Modern Medical Complex at Georgetown was also affected by the eruptions and her husband was receiving dialysis at Evesham, where the facility was temporarily relocated.

“So we had to wait until the centre at Georgetown was back up before we moved back to Sandy Bay,” Cordice explained.

Like many others, she suffered damage to the roof of her home and this is now being repaired.

However, the family suffered other losses after the passage of Hurricane Elsa in July last year.

Her house was broken into and a quantity of electrical items and tools were stolen.

Derrick Cordice has been living in Sandy Bay since 1972, and she said she would never like to go through the experiences of April, 2021 ever again.

She is however thankful to God for spared lives.