REGION – DOMINICA – No need to panic, says ODM

DOMINICA, CMC – Coordinator with the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) here, Fitzroy Pascal has assured Dominicans that there was no need for panic following reports of emissions being observed in the Soufriere area in the south of the island on Wednesday.

He made a statement following a visit to the area.

“A visit to the area earlier today showed nothing unusual, so there is no cause for panic at this point. The ODM took photos of the area which were provided to the Seismic Research Centre.”

He said that based on the information supplied by the ODM, the SRC team decided that the recent activity is likely the result of a landslide in the area. He added that this was followed by the resettlement of a near surface hydrothermal activity, with associated “strong steam degassing”.

“There have been no associated volcanic earthquakes recorded in the area by the SRC network on the island. The SRC therefore believes that a change in volcanic activity has not contributed to this event. It is possible that the area will still be unstable and additional landslides may occur.”

According to Pascal, the ODM and the SRC are both continuing to monitor the area that will be limited to public access.

Besides rivers, Dominica has no shortage of mountains. There are at least 26 mountains, nine of which are dormant volcanoes, and the highest being almost 5000 feet. Dominica has the highest concentration of dormant volcanoes in the world.

Dominica is essentially made up of volcanic rocks and geothermal activity are associated with the Plat Pays volcanic complex. The largest area is located on the margin of the Soufrière depression in the Sulphur Springs National Park region. News source – CMC