St. Vincent hit by outages after volcanic eruption

Residents of St. Vincent faced another turbulent day on Sunday, as thick ash damaged property and the La Soufriere volcano rumbled for the third straight day. The Caribbean island also saw reports of widespread power failures and water outages early in the day.

A thick layer of ash covered large parts of St. Vincent after the island's only active volcano erupted after decades of inactivity. There have been no reports of casualties so far.

Early Sunday, St. Vincent's National Emergency Management Organization said there was a huge power failure after "another explosive event." The power was restored by midday, according to residents.

"Explosions and accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, are likely to continue to occur over the next few days," the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Center warned.

A highly volcanic region

Around 16,000 people have fled their homes, many seeking refuge at government-run shelters. Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of the 32 islands that constitute St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said water supplies were affected in many parts of the islands. The country's air space was closed due to the ash. 

Gonsalves also urged people to remain calm and attempt to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

The eastern Caribbean is a highly volcanic region with as many as 19 active volcanoes spread out across 11 islands. A 1997 eruption in Montserrat killed at least 19 people.

La Soufriere is the only active volcano on St. Vincent and is the highest peak on the island at 1,234 meters (4,049 feet) tall. The volcano had previously erupted five times since 1718, with one eruption in May 1902 killing 1,680 people.

see/sri (AP, Reuters)