Tearful Gonsalves thanks Caricom neighbours as St Vincent evacuation continues

PRIME Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves was brought to tears as he announced that several Caricom countries had offered to assist his country as evacuation continues in the wake of the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.

Gonsalves issued an evacuation order Thursday afternoon for residents near the volcano, in the north of the island, as seismologists warned it was nearing “an imminent and violent eruption,” which eventually happened on Friday morning.

At an emergency press conference a few hours after this, Gonsalves said over 2,000 people were already at 20 different shelters elsewhere in the country.

He added that many had opted for hotels and guest houses, where he believes preference should be given for the elderly.

“It will cost more money, but I don’t want the operation to be run like it’s a penny-pinching NGO (non-government organisation) operation.

“The places indicated they have about 800 rooms, and I think we can call other persons who did not indicate before to get more…but I’d like to see, as I said, the elderly persons go there.”

He said being at a shelter may be more feasible for “strong, robust” people compared to the sick and the elderly.

He added, “Let’s face it – being in a shelter that used to be a school, even though you have a cot and a bed and meals are coming in, is not home…and the quality of people’s homes have improved over the past 30 years, so that we don’t want persons to experience conditions in the shelters which are really too onerous.”

He said people would have to be tested for the covid19 virus and vaccinated before going to these places, and urged, “I want everybody to co-operate. I don’t want us to get frustrated, I don’t want us to panic.”

He said he has spoken to the prime ministers of countries including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica.

He said Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica should be ready to accept Vincentian citizens by Monday. Some hotels and guest houses there have been closed to prepare for their arrival, while some have offered to let Vincentians stay at their private homes.

“Amazing, eh? On this dangerous road to Jericho, we have the good Samaritans…to put people in their homes…strangers…brings tears to my eyes. I love this Caribbean,” he said, before wiping his tears.

He said currently, people are being transported out of the red zone with minibuses and thanked the drivers and operators of those services.

“That is the way we are at the moment, and I just want to say to again, to all the persons involved in the evacuation exercise, I want to thank you for what you have been doing…The goodness of the hearts of our people and our Caribbean brothers and sisters.”

Prof Richard Robertson of UWI's Seismic Research Centre said overnight, the volcano "had gone into continuous tremor.

"We moved from bands of tremors to continuous tremors and around 8.30 am, we started seeing a signal slowly gaining amplitude and increased the amount of shaking and by 8.41 am, people realised there was an explosion."

He said pilots have said ash clouds up to 20 miles north and 50 miles south of St Vincent, and at a height of ten kilometres.

It's possible to continue to have "more explosions like these," he said.

He warned those who live in the red zone and are not evacuating and saying, "We will wait it out and see what happens," about this.

Gonsalves also said, "This is not simply going to be like a hurricane, where it might be a seven-day business, or in some cases a two-day business. Prof Robinson had indicated that depending on the extent of the explosion and the damage done, it could be for months."