by Staff Writer
St Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Officials in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are monitoring reports of volcanic activity related to the Soufriere volcano.
The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Unit, in a statement Tuesday (December 29), said it was monitoring the situation in collaboration with local officials and advised the public to stay clear of the area.
“The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) in collaboration with National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) reported that visual observations on 29 December 2020 confirmed a new lava dome growth located on the edge of the old lava dome from 1979, forming a “dome on rim of the dome”.
An effusive eruption of the volcano is accompanied by oozing lava and fumarolic activity.
The last eruption occurred 41 years ago as the series of explosive eruptions ejected the dome and was replaced with another.
The alert level for the volcano was raised to “orange”, as an increase of seismic activity at the volcano has been recorded since early November.
The Volcanic Hazard Map contains 4 Hazard Zones (Red Zone-Very High, Orange Zone-High, Yellow Zone-Moderate, Green Zone-Low).
The warning bulletin states that pyroclastic flows and lahars could affect a land area including offshore and the hazard zones must be envisaged as extending some distance offshore, according to UWI-SRC.
Tuesday afternoon (December 29), Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves hosted a press conference, with officials from the UWI SRU online, and announced that permission was granted by the Trinidad and Tobago government for a team from the UWI Seismic Unit to be dispatched to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
ity of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre volcano activity update 30 December 2020
