Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, after being briefed by scientists monitoring La Soufrière, has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the red zone, as the volcano enters a heightened period of activity.

Returning to address the country following an initial televised briefing earlier today (April 8), Gonsalves said the matter has evolved into a matter of urgency for the roughly 20,000 Vincentians in harm’s way.

“Matters have deteriorated further at La Soufrière. At 1:00 [pm] Professor [Richard] Robertson had advised that the volcano had entered a heightened period of activity indicative of a fresh batch of magma either near or approaching the surface,” Gonsalves began.

“And the possibility for activity to move to an explosive phase has increased significantly. Given the current data, he is not able to say what the timescale would be and his recommendation was that preparations be finalised within a few hours’ notice,” he said.

With immediate effect, residents within the red zone, particularly along the northeast and northwest sections of the main island, must make urgent preparations to evacuate. After completing evacuation, entry into the red zone will be prohibited.

Gonsalves, pleading for calm, added that all government arrangements have been initiated for the emergency disaster response.

“I want to urge all our people to be calm. Do not panic, be disciplined, be orderly,” he assured.

True to their word, the governments of St Lucia, Grenada, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago have all offered to house St Vincent citizens. Cuba and Venezuela are also committing to assist, while Royal Caribbean has earmarked three vessels to temporarily house Vincentians in need of accommodation. Citizens, however, must be vaccinated for COVID-19 to board; receiving countries are making similar demands.

• Watch: La Soufrière broiling towards explosive eruption

For his part, Robertson, head seismologist and St Augustine professor, explained that La Soufrière appears to be building for an imminent eruption.

“The significant thing that has changed since the last briefing though, is that the last tremor was accompanied by periods of gas venting; significant pulsing of the volcano, where it looks like it’s trying to clear its throat. So, it indicates to us that we can have an explosion and at this point, we cannot give any further clear warning that nothing wouldn’t happen within the next 24-48 hours,” Robertson said.

“There’s no further warning we expect, and therefore, to guarantee safety of people, it’s best to take certain decisions. We would not be surprised if there are explosions in the volcano. We seem to be heading into something that might be explosive,” he added.

Hours prior, Dr Gonsalves issued a Stage Three disaster alert as seismologists observed gases billowing from La Soufrière.

The volcano, which has had an ongoing effusive eruption since December 2020, last violently erupted in 1979.