[Rockhounds] 'Explosive Eruption' Rocks St. Vincent as Soufriere Volcano Spews Ash Across the Caribbean

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

On Friday, the small Caribbean island of St. Vincent became the epicenter
of the seismic world when La Soufriere volcano sent a cloud of ash flying
20,000 feet (6,096 meters) into the sky and streaming across the Atlantic.

The volcano has been rumbling for months, but authorities raised alert
levels to red in the northern tier of the island on Thursday after tremors
began to indicate a new phase could be beginning. Swarms of earthquakes
racked the volcano throughout the day, and the dome sitting at the top of
the volcano “increased significantly” in height, according to the National
Emergency Management Organization for St. Vincent and the Grenadines (NEMO
SVG). Those are all telltale warning signs that were confirmed on Friday
morning with NEMO SVG tweeting,
<https://twitter.com/NEMOSVG/status/1380503676381446144> “explosive
eruption confirmed.”

Photos showed a towering column of ash over the volcano as residents in the
red zone were urged to evacuate immediately. NEMO SVG said ashfall was
reported 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) to the southeast at Argyle
International Airport, the main aviation center for the island nation of
St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The airport is technically in the island’s
green zone, though clearly impacts are still being felt. Prevailing winds
have also steered a massive plume of ash east across the open waters of the
Atlantic. Satellites caught the explosion
<https://twitter.com/ThePlanetaryGuy/status/1380529093993709572> as well as
the ash plume, showing the magnitude of the event.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/explosive-eruption-rocks-st-vincent-as-soufriere-volca-1846650518