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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Volcano (As of 9 April 2021)

Countries
St. Vincent & Grenadines
+ 5 more
Sources
UN RC Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
Publication date

SITUATION OVERVIEW

• On 9 April at 8:41 am an explosive eruption began at the La Soufrière Volcano in Saint. Vincent. This is a culmination of the seismic activity that began on April 8 and ash plumes of up to 20,000 feet are heading east. 1 Satellite imagery can be seen here.

• On the morning of April 9, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) indicated that fifty-seven (57) shelters have been activated with forty-nine (49) being occupied with 1,800 persons and eight (8) other shelters are activated but unoccupied. On April 8 over 600 persons were moved by maritime assets.

• On 8 April 2021, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves issued an immediate evacuation order for those persons living in the red zones and raised the alert level to red, indicating that an eruption is in progress or likely without warning. 2

• On 8 April 2021, seismic activity at La Soufrière Volcano changed significantly when the seismic station closest to the summit began recording low-level seismic tremors. The volcano entered a heightened period of activity indicative of a fresh batch of magma either near to or approaching the surface. The possibility for activity to move to an explosive phase increased significantly.

COORDINATION & RESPONSE

Coordination

• PM Ralph Gonsalves indicated that Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Grenada will be ready by Sunday to receive evacuees.

• CDEMA has activated its regional support operation and is providing technical assistance to NEMO with Evacuation and Logistics Planning.

• The Argyle International Airport and AIA Cargo Terminal are currently closed until further notice.

• Cruise ships are being used as offshore facilities for evacuees.

Response

• PAHO is supporting the Barbados Defense Force (Emergency Medical Team - EMT) by providing supplies, mainly masks, so they are equipped in case of deployment. PAHO is following-upon quarantine requirements.The Emergency Team are on standby and the WASH Expert is available to support health messages.

• ITU is ready to provide ICT-assisted-emergency BGAN phones and upon review any other emergency assistive ICT support as may be determined.

• WFP has been in contact with the Ministry of National Mobilization and Social Development in Saint Vincent to outline support implementing food and basic needs assessment, including distribution points. In-kind and cash support, ready-to-eat meals and food kits that are available upon request. Technical assistance for recovery and resilience is available and experts on food security and livelihoods are ready to be deployed. WFP can provide common logistics services including storage facilities, response assets from Barbados; air and sea bridge and emergency telecoms equipment is also available. Logistics and supply chain staff are on stand-by to support emergency response and relief supply tracking.

• UNFPA donated 400 dignity kits for women and families to the Bureau of Gender Affairs and has been supporting CDEMA directly on statistics and common data sets including GIS mapping. Surge deployment from Barbados and Jamaica are ready to be deployed.

• UN Women has provided support to the Bureau of Gender Affairs with a cash transfer to support 400 families for a period of two months.

• UNICEF has items prepositioned in Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and Trinidad & Tobago, through CDEMA. These WASH supplies include: Collapsible water bladders (9 x 5,000 liters; 3 x 1,500 liters, 1,500 x 10 liters collapsible water containers (HH use), purification tablets; and 750 dignity kits preposition. Action will be for transportation to locations as required by Needs Assessment.