Kick ‘em Jenny volcano no threat to TT

The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) of St Vincent and the Grenadines issued a statement on Monday that there is increased activity at the site of the submarine volcano known as Kick ‘em Jenny.

The alert level for the volcano, eight kilometres north of Grenada, was at yellow as of Monday morning. This is level two of four.

The volcano currently poses no threat to TT, nor is there a tsunami threat for St Vincent and the Grenadines and the region.

The statement said a yellow level alert means the volcano is restless and the activity around the volcano is “above the historical level or other unusual activity has been observed or can be expected without warning.”

NEMO said an exclusion zone of 1.5 kilometres from the summit of the volcano, which is about 200 metres below the surface of the sea, should be strictly enforced.

All mariners were asked to observe the exclusion zone and residents in the Southern Grenadines asked to monitor releases from NEMO and the UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC).

The SRC’s website said as far as it knew, Kick ‘em Jenny is “the only live (likely to erupt again) submarine volcano in the Eastern Caribbean (and) the most frequently active volcano in the region, erupting at least 14 times since it was discovered in 1939. The most recent eruption of Kick ‘em Jenny occurred in April 2017.”

Newsday was unable to reach the SRC for comment.