The third explosive eruption of St. Vincent’s La Soufrière volcano, which began around 6.35 pm yesterday. (UWI Seismic Research Centre photo)
April 10 ,2021
-Harmon says Guyana should accommodate evacuees
Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) are mobilising aid for St Vincent and the Grenadines following yesterday’s multiple eruptions of La Soufrière volcano, which spewed ash and steam miles into the air, triggering the evacuation of thousands more from the danger zone.
As of 6.35 last evening a third eruption of the volcano was recorded, the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre reported on its Facebook page. The second explosive eruption observed at 2:45 pm yesterday was seen from the country’s capital Kings-town. The first explosion was recorded at approximately 8.40 am yesterday.
In a joint statement, which listed the items needed and the amounts, the agencies said they are seeking to supply as many items as they can to aid in the relief of affected residents. Among the items requested by the PSC and CDC are water tanks, hygiene kits, sleeping mats, a field kitchen, blankets, reflective vest, respirators with filters, caution tape, portable toilets and buckets.
The statement noted that the CDC met with members of the PSC, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA), the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce, and a representative of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Chamber of Commerce, to collaborate and coordinate relief efforts for the volcano-affected island.
Director General of CDC Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig indicated that donated items will be stored at the CDC Head-quarters until they are ready to be delivered to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The relief packages will go either by air or by sea, depending on the developing circumstances of the disaster. It was noted that emphasis has been placed on providing priority items identified by the impacted island to ensure that the supplies are delivered in a timely manner to reach the immediate needs of the citizens impacted.
PSC Chairman Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer stressed the importance of helping our Caribbean brothers and sisters in this dire time in any way that we can.
According to the statement, to date 62 shelters are occupied with approximately 2,400 evacuees. Additionally, some 600 residents have been transported by marine assets. “The Government of Guy-ana in collaboration with the Private Sector will coordinate with the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to ensure relief supplies are efficiently mobilised, shipped, and distributed to those in need,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, yesterday said the opposition stands ready to support appropriate and necessary measures to provide assistance to the people of St Vincent who are affected and are being evacuated to safer locations.
He called on the PPP/C government to put suitable measures in place to accommodate Vincentians who need to be evacuated and relocated.
President Irfaan Ali on Thursday offered support and solidarity to St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and committed to supporting the island chain’s needs.
“I committed to him that Guyana, upon receiving the full list of their needs, would immediately put together a national response to supply the items and arrange for them to be shipped to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“At this time, we would like to assure the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines of Guyana’s unwavering support and solidarity,” Ali said in a statement.
‘Amazing’
Gonsalves, in tears during a press conference yesterday, expressed gratitude to Caribbean Community countries which have offered help.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Gonsalves said “Amazing… on this dangerous road to Jericho, we have the good Samaritans…to put people in their homes…strangers…brings tears to my eyes. I love this Caribbean.”
Dormant since 1979, the volcano started showing signs of activity in December last year, spewing steam and smoke and rumbling away.
Gonsalves on Thursday issued an immediate evacuation order to residents in the path of volcanic activity.
Some 4,500 residents near the volcano had evacuated already via ships and by road, Gonsalves said at a news conference yesterday. Heavy ash fall had halted the evacuation efforts somewhat due to poor visibility, according to St. Vincent’s National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), Reuters reported.
Welling up with tears, Gonsalves said that neighbouring islands such as Dominica, Grenada and Antigua had agreed to take evacuees in and cruise lines could ferry them over – as long as they got vaccinated for COVID-19 first.
With evacuees estimated at over 20,000 in a population of around 100,000, the St Vincent Searchlight newspaper said that neighbouring islands, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada and Antigua have offered to house persons.
Also offering assistance in other areas like transportation and logistics are the United States Southern Command, Venezuela, Cuba and the CARICOM Regional Security System (RSS), the report said.
PM Gonsalves said in a press briefing from the Cabinet Room yesterday that he has been in touch with the Cuban authorities, the RSS and he has already spoken with Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley and St. Lucia’s PM Allen Chastanet.
Gonsalves said that volcanologist Dr. Professor Richard Robertson, of the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Unit projects that if the volcano erupts explosively, the country will have a period of about four months in which it will likely be in a condition of evacuation.
“Hopefully it would be a shorter period, but that is his estimate,” Gonsalves said.
Meanwhile, the Searchlight newspaper reported that members of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) have been deployed at strategic locations throughout the country to “safeguard life and property, and to ensure the free flow of traffic on the nation’s roads.”
A release from the RSVPF said: “In addition, the RSVGPF has also set up security check points in the vicinity of the bridge in Walliabou (Central Leeward) and at Mt Young (in the vicinity of the Rubis Gas Station (North Windward). These check points will ensure that no unauthorized persons or vehicles enter the Red Zones.”
The RSVGPF will also secure the properties and livestock that are left behind by the evacuees from break -ins and thefts.
Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Professor Sir Hilary Beckles has reached out to Gonsalves, assuring that the University stands ready to mobilise any additional support needed in the wake of the eruption.
The scientific experts of The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) have been deployed on the island since December 2020, when activity on the volcano was first detected. Over the past few months, scientific teams have been in rotation, providing ongoing monitoring and updates to Prime Minister Gonsalves and working closely with the country’s National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), a statement from UWI said yesterday.
Beckles said that all UWI Campuses are mobilised to provide technical capacity and general support as required and he has committed to visiting the island as soon as logistically possible.