Seismic stations have been installed at La Soufrière on Friday (January 15), as surveillance of the St Vincent volcano, and its effusive eruption continues.

According to the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), the stations form part of the Seismic Research Centre’s (SRC)La Soufrière observations and was completed with help from volunteers, local community members.

It comes as the new lava dome, first detected in late December, renews a worrying growth; nearly tripling in height.

“The dome continues to grow and is slightly higher and bigger than previously [observed]. It is growing laterally towards the east and west,” NEMO noted in a Thursday situation report.

The Vincentian agency added that researchers took thermal images to determine the heat distribution on the new dome, however, conditions proved unsuitable for a temperature estimate.

In its daily update, NEMO said that its scientists will need to repeat the exercise, as the gases emanating from the volcano were moving around and, therefore, difficult to measure.

The volcanic alert remains at orange, NEMO continued, highlighting the dangerous conditions on La Soufrière.

“The volcano continues to exude magma on the surface and steam can still be observed from the Belmont Observatory. The scientists have reported that carbon dioxide is also one of the gases coming out of the volcano, along with sulphur dioxide. Carbon dioxide does not have a smell and can be fatal,” the agency indicated.