La Soufriere Volcano Gives St. Vincent a Break

La Soufriere volcano, that has been spewing volcanic material and causing massive ashfall over the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, has apparently taken some rest for the time being, volcanologists report.

Specialists have also indicated the occurrence of earthquakes has dropped significantly at about 8 pm on 16 April and has remained near-constant since. No episodes of tremor have been recorded in the course of the past 12 hours.

Satellite images of the volcano show that the mountain’s summit has a new crater of roughly 900x750 meters. The crater is thought to be at least 100 metres deep and is centered in the southwest sector of the main crater.

Within the new crater, there are several vents, but only one can be identified clearly. Other vents, as indicated by the ash and steam plumes are located in the northern part of the new crater.

The volcano keeps erupting, although explosive activity appears to have ended at this time. Its current pattern of seismic activity may indicate growth of a lava dome, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Explosions with accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, could restart in the future, impacting St. Vincent and neighboring islands, experts say.