Bridgetown – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is closely monitoring the ongoing situation at the La Soufrière volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The volcano is exhibiting signs of increased volcanic activity and an effusive eruption has been confirmed at the site. The threat level for the volcano has therefore been elevated to orange.
CDEMA said in a release: “Based on consultations with the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the CDEMA Coordinating Unit (CU) activated the Regional Coordination Plan (RCP) at 6 p.m. on December 29, 2020.”
The Volcano Response Plan and the Regional Logistics Plan were also activated. The Regional Coordination Centre (RCC) was activated at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday to provide logistic and coordination support to the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM). The following teams of the Regional Response Mechanism have been placed on alert and, if activated, will be guided by the Deployment Protocols for the COVID-19 pandemic environment:
- CARICOM Disaster Assessment and Coordination (CDAC)
- CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST)
- Rapid Needs Assessment Team (RNAT)
- Caribbean Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU)
Secretary General of CARICOM Irwin LaRocque and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of CDEMA Ralph Higgs received a brief on the situation on Wednesday.
CDEMA said the Coordinating Unit will continue to monitor the situation in collaboration with the UWI Seismic Research Centre, the St Vincent NEMO, and the national disaster management offices of participating states.
CDEMA also advised the public to monitor updates. (PR)
