Thousands of people without clean water after volcanic eruption in the Caribbean

St Vincent and the Grenadines - The entire population of the Caribbean island of St Vincent has been left without clean water and electricity after last week's eruption of the La Soufriere volcano, a UN spokesperson said on Monday.

Images on social media show an ash covered landscape in St. Vincent.
Images on social media show an ash covered landscape in St. Vincent.  © Twitter/The UWI Seismic Research Centre

In addition, around 20,000 evacuees from the large island nation are still in need of shelter, Stephane Dujarric said, citing reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The volcano, which lies in the north of the island, erupted last Friday, emitting a plume of ash that extended 20,000 feet into the sky.

"The eruption has affected most livelihoods in the northern part of the island, including banana farming, with ash and lava flows hampering the movement of people and goods," Dujarric said in a press briefing.

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Tremors were still being felt over the weekend and there was another large explosion on Monday, according to the UWI research center in Trinidad.

OCHA has warned that "explosions and accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, are likely to continue to occur over the next few days."

St Vincent, the main island of the state of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has a population of around 100,000.

According to the UN, some 3,500 people were taken into 85 emergency shelters.

The 4,000 feet tall La Soufriere is the only active volcano on St Vincent. During an eruption in 1902, around 1,500 people died. The last eruption was 1979.

Cover photo: Twitter/The UWI Seismic Research Centre

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