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Volcano erupts on Caribbean's St. Vincent as thousands flee danger zone - CBS News
Apr 09, 2021 1 min, 35 secs

However, heavy ashfall also was reported in communities around the volcano and beyond with authorities saying some evacuations were limited by poor visibility.

"More explosions could occur," Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center, said in a phone interview, adding that it was impossible to predict whether they might be bigger or smaller than the first or second one.

The volcano last erupted on April 13, 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.

The new eruption followed mandatory evacuation orders issued Thursday for the roughly 16,000 people who live in the red zone near the volcano in the island's northern region.

Roughly 2,000 people were staying in the 20 shelters the government had opened, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a press conference.

Islands that have said they would accept evacuees include St.

we will come through this stronger than ever," Gonsalves said.

Authorities said those staying in shelters would be tested for COVID-19, and that anyone who tests positive would be taken to an isolation center.

"They know who doesn't have transportation because all of this has been canvassed before," she said, adding that those who board the cruise ship would not be taken elsewhere but would remain there for an unspecified period of time.

John Renton, a school principal who was in charge of one shelter, said in a phone interview that they had plenty of masks and other personal protective equipment but needed more cots.

"We're over capacity," he responded, noting that the shelter could hold 75 people and was already filled up.

Meanwhile, the government warned of water shortages amid the pandemic given that people were stocking up after the alert was issued Wednesday following days of seismic activity around La Soufriere.

"Things are escalating pretty quickly," she said of the volcanic activity, adding that it was impossible to provide an exact forecast of what might happen in the next hours or days.

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