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Dome of Montserrat's Soufriere Hills Volcano Collapses
Yesterday, on our way back to Trinidad from Miami, my friend Joanna and I were astonished to hear the pilot of our airplane say the following over the intercom:"Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to take a bit of a scenic route to Trinidad today -- instead of our normal route, we're going to head towards Haiti, and then towards Aruba and Bonaire and follow the north coast of Venezuela into Trinidad. This is because of the eruption of the volcano in Montserrat this morning, which is spewing volcanic ash into the atmosphere, and it is against FAA regulations to fly through volcanic ash."
Joanna and I looked at each other with astonishment. We hadn't heard anything about a volcano erupting. This wasn't good news: About a decade ago, the Montserrat volcano erupted, resulting in a decline in the local population from 12,000 to 4,000 people. More than half of the island became uninhabitable. Although only 20 people were killed by the mud volcano, most migrated overseas.
A few hours later, the pilot came back on, directing our attention to the left side of the airplane, where the cloud of volcanic ash had risen to over 60,000 feet. Strangely, once I arrived home I couldn't find any news report about the eruption.
Finally, this morning, I found this article in the Washington Post, published late last night. It appears the inhabitants of the island are safe.
Good news.
(Photo courtesy of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian Nichols May 21st 2006 4:44PM
Yep....stuck in Aruba for the same reason: American not flying because of ash in the atmosphere from Montserrat volcano. Work is all done so nothing to do but cool my heels. Can't think of a single reason to complain.
AndyS May 22nd 2006 12:23PM
A friend who lives on Monstserrat reports that water lines were lost to mud flows and many crops were lost or damaged. Water lines to be fixed in a couple of weeks. Fresh vegtables will be imported from Dominica. Lots of ash to swept up.
paulette May 29th 2006 9:08PM
we here in Montserrat are thankful to God for our spare lives. Things could have been worse. small peebles fell and some windscreen got broken. alot of animals are out of food. and we surely need alot of rain. the wind is taking the ash in circles so not much of a cleaing can be done now. we need your prayers.
Myriam Jun 7th 2006 3:44AM
Hello,
I am French, and i was in Guadeloupe when it happend's. A tsunami with a wave of 1 meter has arrived in Dehaies, due to the falling down of the top of the Montserra Soufriere in the water. Luckly, with no dammage.