Volcano ash turns northern skies dark

The West and North of Barbados was hard hit by the falling ash as a result of the eruption of La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

St Lucy was particularly bad as by 11:30 a.m. it looked like 6:30 p.m. and the ash could be felt on the skin and in the eyes.

Bromefield resident Gracelyn Griffith, who in years past had issues with dust from the nearby Arawak Cement Plant, said things were much worse now.

“My knees bad so I’m staying indoors but even if I could, I would not be going out there. This makes the dust from Arawak seem like nothing. This morning it wasn’t that bad but as the day went on, it just kept getting darker. Imagine you at home during the morning and have to turn your lights on?

“My biggest concern is my granddaughter, I’m trying to protect her because she has asthma. I really hope this clears up soon,” she said.

Ash from La Soufriere volcano in St Vincent and the Grenadines coats this car in St Silas, St James. (Picture by Shanice King)

In St Silas, St James, Duaine Lewis woke up of see a grey blanket of dust covering everything.

“It was darker than normal and the street lights were on so I thought it was earlier. When I went to look outside, there was dust all over the window sill and then I saw the dust all over the cars,” he said.

Lewis said he came outside to see the damage to his car and was surprised by how dirty it was. He said he had not cleaned it off as there were conflicting opinions about how to tackle the ash.

“I’ve been hearing different theories such as not to use the windshield wipers so I will check some more and see if I will clean it myself or take it to Shine Automotive to get cleaned professionally,” he said.

Visibility became steadily worse, making the trip from St Lucy back to St Michael a treacherous one, at times requiring a snail’s pace. (CA)