UN warns of crisis from St. Vincent volcano

UN coordinator calls eruption ‘a crisis within the COVID crisis’

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Ongoing volcanic eruptions have displaced about 20% of people in the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as a U.N. official on Wednesday warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

From 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated under government orders before La Soufriere volcano first erupted on Friday, covering the lush green island with ash that continues to blanket communities in St. Vincent, as well as Barbados and other nearby islands.

About 6,000 of those evacuees are considered most vulnerable, said Didier Trebucq, United Nations resident coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

“So, we are facing a situation with a great deal of uncertainty, and also a humanitarian crisis that is growing and may continue for weeks and months,” he said.

Trebucq said that, based on certain information and preliminary estimations, 20,000 people are “estimated at risk of food insecurity, given the loss of the assets in terms of livelihood like fisheries, or agriculture.”

Some 4,000 people are living temporarily in 87 government shelters, while others have relocated to hotels or the homes of friends and family, officials said. Trebucq noted that many shelters lack basic services, including drinking water.

He said priority number one is water, which is being transported from nearby Caribbean nations and other contributors since water systems shut down in many parts of the island.

He said priority number two is meeting the needs of the 4,000 people in shelters, including cots and basic supplies, sanitation, hygiene and emergency latrines.

“We are dealing with a crisis within the COVID crisis,” Trebucq told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York in a video briefing.