KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – The St Vincent and the Grenadines government will consider a recommendation from the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the Trinidad-based St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) to lower the volcano alert from orange to yellow, less than three months after the last eruption at La Soufriere on April 22.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves read a letter to Parliament he had received from the SRC’s director, Erouscilla Joseph, indicating that with the restoration in capacity of the monitoring network and given the level of volcanic activity, consideration should be given to the lowering of the volcano alert level to yellow.

Yellow is level two of four, and means that the volcano is restless, seismicity and/or fumarolic activity are above the historical level at the volcano, or other unusual activity has been observed.

With a yellow alert, scientists are expected to bring the monitoring system to full capability and alert civil authorities.

In her letter, Joseph said that measures should be taken to minimise the risk to individuals and communities in the orange and red zone associated with the volcano in its current state of unrest.

“It should be noted that given the volume of material deposited from the explosion, this activity can continue for the foreseeable future,” Joseph said, adding that there are risks associated with hot unstable deposits in the western valleys.

Nonetheless, the volcanologist said that visits to the upper parts of the volcano, particularly to the summit should be minimised and limited only to essential workers. These visits should be carefully planned and coordinated with the Belmont observatory.

Plans should cater for a possible restart or escalation in the activity that may require a review of the alert level and management of population access to high-risk region of the volcano.

Emergency plans and protocols should cater for the on-going impact of lahars, particularly in villages on the eastern side of the volcano, which may be marooned during period of heavy rainfall.

Prime Minister Gonsalves told legislators that he had also received a two-page document from the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), raising some practical issues.

“I wanted to draw attention to the house that the scientists are asking for us to give consideration to reducing the level from orange to yellow, but with a set of considerations to deal with whatever are the existing risks,” Gonsalves said.

“So I just want to make that joint because there is often some people if you say this, they say, ‘Why you want to reduce the level? You want to send people back and you are not ready.’

“Clearly that is not the case. The reduction of the level has to do with the level of the seismic activity. There are other considerations clearly; it’s how we are cleaning up and how we are restoring conditions satisfactory for life and living and with all the services, etc., etc., but I draw this very important request by the seismic research centre for our consideration,” the prime minister said.

The SRC director, in her letter noted that seismic activity at the volcano has steadily declined since the last explosion on April 22.

The SRC said average daily number of earthquakes being recorded decreased from 354 up to April 22 to 13 up to May 22, and 24 during the following month.

The alert level was lowered to Orange on May 6 and since then, the pattern of declining activity has been maintained.

Joseph said that despite the declining activity levels, the volcano continues in a state of unrest as evidenced by the background level of seismicity and sulphur dioxide emission which has, for over a month, established a flux of less than 500 tonnes per day.

Joseph said that over the next few weeks, on-going work to restore monitoring capacity lost during the eruption will continue with the preparation for the installation of additional stations at Greiggs mountain and Fitz Hughes.

A new seismic station will also be installed at upper Waterloo and options for restoration of the Owia station are being explored. A tilt meter has been installed at Richmond and a second one will also be installed at Bamboo Range.

“These extremely sensitive devices can detect small angular changes along the side of the volcano,” Joseph said, adding that the restoration of a summit station was about 90 per cent complete.

Joseph said that the activity at La Soufriere was consistent with a period of unrest following eruptive magmatic activity, and can continue for week or for months.