Dominicans who live in Antigua and Barbuda are expressing concern about recent activities at the La Soufriere Hills volcano. A news report carried by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) says, “Dominicans were urged not to panic on Tuesday night (September 15) after the Office of Disaster Management (ODM) said it had received reports of emissions being observed from the Soufriere area.”
Dominicans were advised to stay clear of that location until further notice. Video footage of smoke being diffused by the volcano made the rounds today on social media. A Dominican man said that he is praying the volcano does not become more active, because it will cause some devastation to his homeland.
He says that 2020 has been filled with “incidents after incidents,” and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and then the effects of an eruption would be too much. While she, too, has been offering up prayers, a Dominican woman says she does not believe there will be an eruption. However, she is calling on her countrymen and women to turn to God.
Fitzroy Pascal, the ODM coordinator, is quoted in the CMC article as saying that the reports of activity are being investigated, and the Dominican public will be notified of the findings. He says his department has been in contact with the Seismic Research Centre of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, which is responsible for monitoring seismic activity in Dominica.
In addition to its many rivers, Dominica has a range of at least 26 mountains, nine of which are dormant volcanoes, with the highest one being almost 5,000 feet. According to reports, “Dominica has the highest concentration of dormant volcanoes in the world.”
