Deputy Prime Minister of St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), Montgomery Daniel said a number of poorly-built houses and structures in the north-east of the country have collapsed because of the ash fall from the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano.
But Daniel said he could identify around three dozen people still in the community of Sandy Bay, when he inspected the north-eastern sector of St Vincent on Sunday to assess the damage that has so far taken place.
Daniel painted a bleak picture of the landscape in the area with waterways, playing fields, farms and structures inundated with volcanic ash, and he appeared shocked to still find residents in the area.
“When I got to Colonarie, there were a number of stones falling down and I had to stop and take shelter,” he said on NBC Radio on Monday during a talk show with Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
“While I was there, two vehicles came down and their windscreens were already out. They were already smashed out by falling stones.”
He said: “We will have a lot of rebuilding to do in those areas, but there were still persons in Sandy Bay.
“I passed six or seven on the road in one place. At another junction, I passed another ten or 11 people and, at another junction, I am sure I would have passed another half-dozen. There is still a number of people that are hardcore resistant about coming out of there.”
Gonsalves said the government had evacuated a little over 100 people from the north-eastern communities over the past three days, but he was concerned that people still remained.
“We have to get them out,” he said. “The situation will become more dangerous. The problem in Sandy Bay is that there is no jetty, and they will have to go up to Owia.
“The problem in Owia is that the sea is rough, and we are putting the lives of the coast guard officers at risk and we are creating problems for the engines of the boats because of the ash.”
Gonsalves said it was past the time for residents in the north east to evacuate, but he was still willing to issue the order to the coast guard and give the residents another chance to evacuate, but the window of opportunity was closing fast.
“We can’t go and hold people and arrest them and bring them,” he said. “The question of the individual’s freedom is important in that sense.”
(AR)
