PLYMOUTH, Montserrat--Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says there’s no truth to reports that officials issued an evacuation order in his country.
The reports came against the backdrop of an orange alert for La Soufrière volcano.
But the St. Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister has said that the reports are untrue.
He spoke during an interview Saturday night on Antigua television.
“Emphatically no – emphasise no, ‘N-O’, no order has been given for any evacuation in any part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he asserted.
Gonsalves said he had seen “mistaken reports” to that effect in some London newspapers.
“It is not true,” he told the Antigua Broadcasting Service.
Experts have installed a webcam monitoring system to keep track of developments at the summit of La Soufrière. That’s according to the latest update from the country’s National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO). The update on Saturday also disclosed that officials have set up a Data Centre at Belmont.
A team from The University of the West Indies’ (The UWI’s) Seismic Research Centre is spearheading the initiatives. They conducted an alternate site exploration in several areas to identify new sites where they can install equipment.
The volcano alert level remained at orange as of Sunday night. According to NEMO, La Soufrière continues to exude magna on the surface. From the Belmont Observatory, persons can see steam from the volcano.
NEMO said the North Windward disaster committees will meet this week to sensitise people and update community evacuation plans, but reiterated that officials have issued no evacuation orders. ~ St. Lucia Times ~
