Professionals presenting research findings on La Soufriere receive thanks from PM Gonsalves

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has extended gratitude to professionals from within St Vincent and the Grenadines and across the globe for providing detailed analyses of the 2020-2021 eruption of La Soufriere Volcano.

He expressed these sentiments on Wednesday, March 29 at the start of a two day high level ‘Explosions, Ash and Lahars’ conference at the UWI Open Campus at Richmond Hill.

The conference, organised by The University of the West Indies (UWI) Seismic Research Centre; the UWI Open Campus; and the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), has heard in-person, pre-recorded and virtual presentations on the volcanic eruptions which began in December, 2020 and ceased in April, 2021.

The Prime Minister, who delivered the feature address, said he was grateful for all the research and attention that St Vincent and the Grenadines has received.

“We went through a very difficult period and we are still enduring the aftermath of the volcanic eruption,” he said.

“…and coming on the heels of the Covid…we had Hurricane Elsa, we had a drought and of course, the knock-on effect from global turmoil especially with what’s happening in Ukraine…all of those confluence of factors, plus our historical legacies of underdevelopment derived in part from native genocide and enslavement of African bodies. “

The research presentations by more than 20 experts in this field, were divided into three session. There were those who spoke on physical Volcanology; the social aspects of the eruption; and the impacts.

The conference was intended to highlight research that has been or is being undertaken on La Soufrière Volcano with particular focus on the eruption that occurred between December 27, 2020 and April 22, 2021.

The conference, which ended yesterday, March 30, also aimed to provide a forum for regional and international scientific researchers and disaster response stakeholders to meet and discuss the state of knowledge regarding Caribbean volcanism and gaps in knowledge that still exist while engaging with members of the public on these topics.