Volcano Continues to Erupt in Carribbean

A volcano on the island of St. Vincent that has been dormant since 1979 erupted Friday. Thousands were forced to evacuate as layers of volcanic ash from the La Soufrière Volcano blanketed the island. Many have been left without power and running water. The island is cut off from supplies, according to Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, due to ash plumes and smoke billowing miles into the atmosphere – cutting off planes to the region. Dust and ash have been carried to nearby island chains like Barbados. But, impacts are being felt even hundreds of miles away with ash plumes impacting air quality in St. Lucia – some 150 miles east of St. Vincents.

Monday morning brought on the most violent eruption from the volcano, yet. It is being compared to the 1902 explosion that killed 1,600 inhabitants of the island. Those closest to the volcano were evacuated over the weekend to shelters – roughly 16,000 of the 100,000 who live on the island.