Barrouallie residents reassured that La Soufriere is quiet

Residents of Barrouallie have been reassured that despite changes that may have been observed at La Soufriere, there is no evidence that another eruption will happen soon.

The reassurance came from Volcanologist Dr Thomas Christopher on Tuesday, April 18, during a community consultation facilitated by the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) at the Barrouallie Learning Resource Centre.

Christopher was one of persons making presentations at the session at which President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross Association, Alston Anderson and Deputy Director of NEMO, Kenson Stoddard also spoke.

The residents shared their personal experiences with the volcanic eruptions of 2021, noted their concerns on the state of the volcano, and learned about the current status of La Soufriere, two years after its last explosive eruption.

One resident who said he had recently gone up to the volcano and noticed that some parts appeared hollow, while other parts seemed to be filling up, asked if there was anything to be concerned about.

Christopher explained that the area that looks deeper is where the explosion kept recurring and the shallower area is where the lava was falling back following every explosion.

“…People need to understand that this crater is a very large crater so when the explosions went up into the air, about thirty per cent of the material fell back down into the crater, all of it did not come out, but this pit couldn’t be filled up because it kept spitting from that pit so the other parts of it got filled in and it got a deeper hole that was always clear because it kept exploding from there…”, the volcanologist said.

Another resident enquired about the steam that is being released by the volcano, adding that residents in the North Leeward area are wondering if it is a warning signal.

Despite what people related they have noticed Christopher said that during his monitoring, he has not detected any evidence that suggests another eruption will happen soon.

“…The new magma that caused the explosions, it exhausted all the energy and everything it has … there’s no more magma there to generate an explosion. It has fallen away to zero and we’re happy that there’s no more of this there at this moment. “He also emphasised that when consultations like these occur, they are not done because trouble is detected, but rather it is a procedural course of action which equips Vincentians with knowledge of the volcano.

Anderson, in his presentation, underscored the work done by the government and NEMO following the eruption but said plaudits needed to be extended to others as well.

“I really appreciate the kind words that I’ve been hearing about what the scientists have done, but let me just say that after the explosions happened, the government officials and NEMO were the ones who actually did the work … so they deserve some sort of credit as well…”.