ONE-MINUTE READS ... News from across the region

April 14, 2021

Photo

People collect water not contaminated by volcanic ash after the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano in Wallilabou, on the western side of the Caribbean island of St Vincent and the Grenadines, on Monday.

An abandoned bicycle stands in a space that used to be a house, in a neighbourhood destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, in Abaco, Bahamas. Dorian hit the northern Bahamas last September, with sustained winds of 185 mph, unleashing flooding that reached up to 25 feet in some areas.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

La Soufriere erupts again

The La Soufriere volcano erupted yesterday, 42 years to the day as it commemorates its own anniversary with another explosive episode.

The Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the St Augustine campus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) reported that the eruption began at 6:30 a.m. (local time) "and still continues at the time of this post".

"We continue to monitor and update accordingly," the SRC said, warning that "the volcano is at alert level red".

It said that seismic activity is continuing along the pattern established on Monday with short bands of continuous seismic tremor interspersed with long-period earthquakes.

"Following the latest band of tremor, at 1:30 a.m., the long-period earthquakes have steadily become more frequent. Audible venting was heard associated with some periods of tremor and long-period earthquake activity.

"The volcano continues to erupt explosively and has now begun to generate pyroclastic density currents - hot (200degC-700degC), ground-hugging flows of ash and debris. Explosions and accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, are likely to continue to occur over the next few days, impacting St Vincent and neighbouring islands," the SRC added.

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Bahamas to demolish shanty towns

The Bahamas government says that to date, it has no idea as to how many people died in the shanty towns in Abaco more than two years after Hurricane Dorian slammed into the country, as it urged Bahamians to follow health and immigration laws and the building code.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister told parliament that he was perturbed about recent operations conducted in the Abaco shanty town and the second phase of the planned operation.

"Over the past few decades, thousands of persons have deliberately occupied lands in this country that they do not own. In the process they have created shanty towns throughout the country in breach of the laws.

"Many of them have open holes for toilets; unlawful or no connection to the electric grid; pirated or no connections to water. The residences are not inspected and do not meet building codes. Conditions are unsanitary; non-compliant and unlawful businesses flourish; and stolen goods proliferate," he said, adding "several such communities have existed on the island of Abaco".

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GUYANA

Infant dies after ingesting poison given by mother

A six-month-old infant died Monday, one day after his 24-year-old mother died after consuming poison.

Police said that Malique Newton of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) died while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

His eight-year-old sister remains hospitalised in a stable condition at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) where the mother, Temeica Sampson, and her two children were rushed after they all fell ill. The police, in a statement, said that a post-mortem examination had revealed that Sampson died as a result of ingesting poison last week.

The six-month-old boy had been transferred to the GPHC last Friday and died during the early hours of Monday in the intensive care unit. Police said they are continuing their investigation.