‘This could go on for weeks,’ volcanologist says

No one, not even the region’s best experts are prepared to predict exactly how long the country will continue to be showered with ash from the La Soufriére volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

This was the admission of Director of the UWI Seismic Research Centre, Dr Erouscilla Joseph who on Sunday afternoon said the potentially dangerous ashfall could continue for anywhere between days and weeks.

“Unfortunately, the worst case scenario is that this could go on for weeks because of the changes in the dynamics of this system,” Dr Joseph said during a Government media conference.

“We just have to kind of keep monitoring the seismicity associated with the volcano and advise based on that, but given the previous eruptions, they have lasted six months to a year and this is the long-term span of the eruption, but in terms of the worst of it could be days to weeks,” the UWI academic added.

The volcano, that is located in the north of St Vincent, experienced a series of “explosive” eruptions blanketing the island and surrounding islands in ash and smoke.

Joseph, a volcanologist explained that the blanketing ashfall that has covered houses, vehicles, roads and crops in Barbados is the result of the unusually high eruption column spewing ash high into the atmosphere.

She added that this year’s eruption is also considerably different from the La Soufriére eruptions of 1902 and 1979.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the country is in the midst of a “period of uncertainty” that could have significant implications for the future of infrastructure, health and the economy.

“It is important that people understand that when I say that there is a period of uncertainty, that they understand that that uncertainty is very real and that there is no one that can tell us how long this will last for and that what we have to do is to stay tuned to regular communications,” Mottley told reporters.

“We don’t need to panic and we certainly don’t need to do things that escape common sense. The one theme throughout this is going to be that we are going to fight this with common sense. It may need a few cents and dollars too, but the first thing that we need is common sense,” the Prime Minister added.

Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams further said that in an effort to navigate this “evolving difficult time”, Government will continue to liaise with all available scientists and the UWI Seismic Research Centre. (KS)