Ash from volcano taints island’s water

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent — Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere.

Some 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano sits, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters.

“We have to get stuff rolling into people,” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a news conference.

But no casualties have been reported since the first big blast from the volcano early Friday. “We have to try and keep that record,” he said. Gonsalves said some people have refused to leave homes closest to the volcano and urged them to evacuate.

Falling ash and pyroclastic flows have destroyed crops and contaminated water reservoirs. Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewer authority, noting that some communities have not yet received water.

The volcano, which had a low-level eruption in December, experienced the first of several major explosions Friday morning, and volcanologists say activity could continue for weeks.

Another explosion was reported Tuesday morning, sending another plume of ash into the air.