More volcanic eruptions occur on St. Vincent
>> More people fled their homes on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Sunday as La Soufrière volcano rumbled loudly for a third day and the heavy weight of its ashfall damaged some buildings. Residents reported widespread power failures early in the day, though authorities restored electricity to most of the island by late afternoon.
The eruption Friday of La Soufrière prompted many people to evacuate their homes, and others who had remained in place sought shelter elsewhere Sunday.
The volcano’s rumbles were heard in the capital of Kingstown, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south.
“I’m just here wondering when it’s going to calm down,” resident Kalique Sutherland said.
The eruption could continue for some time, said Richard Robertson, the lead scientist at the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center.
“It’s likely that at some point it would quiet down and hopefully we would have a break so that we could recover a little bit more, but don’t be surprised if after the break it
picks up like this again,” Robertson said.
Elford Lewis, a 56-yearold farmer who evacuated his home on Sunday morning, said the ongoing eruption is worse than the last big one in 1979.
“This one is more serious,’’ said Lewis, who witnessed the big eruption decades ago.
An eruption of the 4,003-foot (1,220-meter) volcano in 1902 killed roughly 1,600 people.
About 16,000 people have had to flee their ash- covered communities with as many belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. However, there have been no reports of anyone being killed or injured by the initial blast or those that followed.