Two Dormant Volcanoes In The Caribbean Have Begun To Rumble And Smoke

[Judi Lynn]

CLAIRE REID
Last updated 13:47, Friday 01 January 2021 GMT

Two volcanoes that have been dormant for years have begun to rumble and smoke in the Caribbean.

Officials in Martinique and St Vincent and the Grenadines have issued warnings to local residents as scientists head out to study the volcanoes.

On Tuesday 29 December a warning was put out for the La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines, an island with a population of around 100,000, after gas emissions and a new volcanic dome were formed along with changes to its crater lake.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said there had been an 'effusive eruption within the crater, with visible gas and steam'.

Officials have declared an 'orange alert' which means eruptions could occur with less than 24 hours' notice and have warned those who live near to the volcano to be prepared in case evacuation is necessary, the Associated Press reports.

More:
https://www.ladbible.com/news/news-two-dormant-volcanoes-in-the-caribbean-have-begun-to-rumble-and-smoke-20210101

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The volcanoes are late for 2020.

[mr_lebowski]

2. Seems it started around 12/29 so I think they're still on the clock ...

[soothsayer]

4. Ha! 2020 was a sneaky so and so

[MyOwnPeace]

3. Boy, don't we know that!

"Officials have declared an 'orange alert' which means eruptions could occur with less than 24 hours' notice"

What? You mean they're not talking about tRump? I thought Homeland Security was finally doing something to help protect us!

[friendly_iconoclast]

5. The one in Martinique (Mount Pele) is scarier- 30,000 died during its 1902-1905 eruption:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1902_eruption_of_Mount_Pel%C3%A9e

The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée was one the deadliest volcanic eruptions of all time that occurred on the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc of the eastern Caribbean. Eruptive activity began on 23 April as a series of phreatic explosions from the summit of Mount Pelée. Within days, the vigor of the explosions exceeded anything witnessed since the island was settled by Europeans. The intensity then subsided for a few days until early May when the explosions had increased again. Lightning laced the eruption clouds and trade winds dumped ash on villages to the west. Heavy ash fall at times caused total darkness. Some of the afflicted residents panicked and headed for the perceived safety of larger settlements, especially Saint-Pierre, about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Pelée's summit. Saint-Pierre received its first ash fall on 3 May.

Mount Pelée remained relatively quiet until the afternoon of 5 May when a mudflow swept down a river on the southwest flank of the volcano, destroying a sugar mill. The massive flow buried about 150 people and generated a series of three tsunamis as it hit the sea. The tsunamis swept along the coast, damaging buildings and boats. The explosions resumed the night of 5 May. The following morning, parts of the eruption plume became incandescent, signifying that the character of the eruption had changed. The phreatic explosions had finally given way to magmatic explosions as magma reached the surface. The explosions continued through the next day and night

A brief lull was shattered by a tremendous explosion at about 8:00 a.m. on 8 May. A ground-hugging cloud of incandescent lava particles suspended by searing turbulent gases (Ed: BKA a pyroclastic flow) moved at hurricane speed down the southwest flank of the volcano, reaching Saint-Pierre at 8:02 a.m. Escape from the city was virtually impossible. Almost everyone within the city proper—about 28,000 people—died horrifically burned or buried by falling masonry. The hot ash ignited a firestorm, fueled by smashed buildings and countless casks of rum. Only two survived within the city, along with a few tens of people caught within the margins of the cloud. All survivors were badly burned.

Explosive activity on 20 May resulted in another 2,000 deaths as rescuers, engineers and mariners brought supplies to the island. A powerful eruption on 30 August generated a pyroclastic flow that resulted in over 800 people killed. The eruption continued until October 1905...