THE University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI SRC) was last Thursday presented with a global award for its surveillance and management of information ahead of the eruption of La Soufrière volcano, which helped save at least 16,000 lives.

Director of the centre, Dr Erouscilla Joseph accepted the 2022 Volcanic Surveillance and Crisis Management Award in Heraklion, Greece, during the 11th Cities on Volcanoes Conference staged by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI).

According to a release from The UWI, the prestigious, peer-nominated accolade, awarded biennially, recognises the Caribbean team of experts at the centre for its outstanding management of the 2020-2021 eruption of La Soufrière in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The nomination was based primarily on the centre’s response, made particularly challenging within the context of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the centre’s “state-of-the-art monitoring techniques, robust partnerships, and timely communication with stakeholders, approximately 16,000 people were evacuated ahead of the explosive phase with no reported serious injuries or casualties”, the release stated.

It noted that a team comprising experts from the SRC, located at The UWI’s St Augustine campus, and from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory was the first among a rotation of several scientific teams deployed to St Vincent from December 2020 following the confirmation of new dome growth detected by SRC scientists using NASA satellite imagery.

“Dome growth at the volcano signalled the beginning of an effusive eruption which escalated to an explosive phase in April 2021,” The UWI said, adding that the Seismic Research Centre has been providing the critical communications response that has received commendation from the international volcanological community.

The release said that leading up to, and throughout La Soufrière’s explosive phase, the Seismic Research Centre worked closely with St Vincent and the Grenadine’s National Emergency Management Organisation to help the Government and its agencies in risk communication — in addition to shaping public policy and response plans.

The April 9, 2021 eruption — La Soufrière’s first explosive event since 1979 — propelled ash and gas high into the air over St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and neighbouring islands.

From as early as December 2020 SRC scientists started issuing warnings about the possibility of an eruption at La Soufrière and continuously kept the Government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines updated.

“This award, previously attributed to volcano institutes in Indonesia (2018) then Ecuador (2020), recognises and honours the remarkable role UWI SRC has played for almost 70 years in monitoring active volcanoes in the Caribbean island arc and in responding to volcano-seismic crises that occurred in this region — especially the Soufrière Hills eruption on Montserrat (1995-present), then the Plinian eruptive events at La Soufrière of St Vincent in 2020-2021,” the release quoted IAVCEI President Dr Patrick Allard.

“The successes achieved by the UWI SRC during these events — in terms of scientific monitoring, hazard assessment, and even co-management of emergency response, in a context of limited resources available —are fully acknowledged by the international volcanological community and well deserve this 2022 awarding,” he added.

In response to the award, Dr Joseph commended the IAVCEI for supporting under-resourced agencies of the global south.

“The operations of the UWI SRC are essential for the continued monitoring of the low-frequency, high-impact geophysical hazards affecting the Caribbean. The issue of significant financial challenges posed by inconsistent and inadequate funding from contributing territories is a long-standing one that has resulted in annual budget cuts over the past 10 years which have considerably impacted the strength of our monitoring and advisory capability,” Dr Joseph pointed out.

The UWI said the successful management of the eruption stemmed from the centre’s long-standing partnership with regional authorities and its commitment to serving the region as part of the university’s broader mandate.

“The response to the eruption of La Soufrière is a reflection of the hard work, expertise, and commitment of all staff who worked tirelessly throughout the eruption, some of whom often put their own lives at risk because we were conscious that people’s lives and livelihoods would be affected,” stated Dr Joseph.

The SRC also received congratulatory messages from members of the volcanological community around the world. Dr Nicolas Fournier, volcanology team leader at GNS Science (New Zealand) and member of the peer-nomination panel stated, “What UWI SRC achieved with its available resources, as the eruption rapidly transitioned from dome-building to explosive phases, is nothing short of extraordinary. This award is an opportunity to recognise not only the fantastic work that UWI SRC did during the eruption at Soufrière but also the level of respect it gathered from around the world.”

Professor Jenni Barclay, volcanologist at University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom and member of the peer-nomination panel, agreed.

“This combination of excellent, dedicated monitoring, hard physical work and inventive and empathetic approaches to communication in no small way contributed to the rapid way in which the authorities and communities moved from advice to action during that moment on April 8, before explosions started,” Professor Barclay said.

“What set SRC’s effort apart was the fantastic level of communication they provided, both to the government agencies and the public and communities of St Vincent,” he added.

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, The UWI’s vice-chancellor, congratulated the SRC and said he was particularly proud of the centre’s “One UWI” scientific capacity and response strategy which is funded and supported through The UWI Regional Headquarters.

“Our Seismic Research Centre is a demonstration of harnessing The UWI’s mandate of service in action to the region. We are truly encouraged to have this international recognition for the centre’s work as yet another signal of our achievements as a global university rooted in the Caribbean, remarkably punching above our weight,” he said.