The volcano Soufriere, located on St. Vincent Island in the Caribbean, erupted in more than 40 years, causing more than 16,000 residents to evacuate.
About 8:40 am local time on the 9th, an explosive eruption erupted from the Soufriere Volcano on St. Vincent Island, the largest island in the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The volcanic eruption and the volcanic ash columns and smoke soaring to a height of 6 km have covered the surrounding villages in darkness, and even small eruptions are continuing, according to foreign media.
Local volcanic experts predicted that "the magnitude of the subsequent eruption is unpredictable, and volcanic activity could continue for weeks to months."
As residents were ordered to evacuate before the volcanic eruption, fortunately, no reports of human casualties have been received.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ordered 16,000 inhabitants of dangerous areas to evacuate, and more than 2,000 people have been evacuated in 62 government-provided shelters.
Local authorities plan to take some residents on cruise ships and evacuate them to other island countries around the world.
However, it is known that the Corona 19 vaccination is required to board a cruise ship or move to neighboring countries, and the Corona 19 situation is making evacuation more difficult, a foreign press reported.
The last eruption of the 1,234 m volcano Soufriere was in April 1979. Thanks to the forecast at the time, there was no human injury, but property damage of over 100 billion won occurred.
In addition, the volcano Soufriere erupted in 1902, killing about 1,600 people at that time.
The volcanic eruption of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a Commonwealth country with an area of 389 km2 made up of St. Vincent Island and other small islands in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, with a population of around 110,000 people.
It is said that there are 17 active volcanoes on 11 islands, including the Soufriere Volcano in the eastern Caribbean region.