How To Survive Is The Issue St. Vincent Red Zone Residents Are Grappling With

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Tues. June 1, 2021: With the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines reiterating that red zone areas of the country impacted by the April 9, 2021 La Soufrière volcano remains off-limits, displaced residents who are leaving shelters are now worried about how they will survive.

The Red Zone areas are on the Northeast and Northwest of St. Vincent and include communities like Owia, Orange Hill, Overland, Georgetown and Sandy Bay, which are closest to the volcano and accounted for much of the country’s agricultural zone.

Roger Meirs told News Americas he has no job and his property in the Red Zone is cracked and unstable.

“There is nothing there to go back to. There is nothing to do,” he said. “I have two kids with me and my lady and I can’t get a day work down there, I can’t farm, nothing. If I eating, I eating the dust because when the wind blow it blowing all the dust on you,” Meirs said.

Veronica Hoyte is also facing the same predicament. “We can’t get any work there to do right now. The farm is destroyed. We can’t go farming anymore. What are you going to do?,” she queried.

Mathew, another displaced resident from the Red Zone, also has no idea how he will survive.

“I don’t know know how we a guh survive as we have nothing to survive on,” he told NANN.

Montgomery Daniel, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister has reiterated that the red zone remains off-limits, but persons have been allowed to go back to clean their homes look after their animals.

The UWI Seismic Unit says the La Soufriere volcano continues to be in a state of unrest and escalation in activity can still take place with little or no warning. Additionally, scientists say they have discovered “thermal anomalies” which indicate that there is a source of heat within the crater and are most likely from a small body of magma left over, close to the floor of the Summit Crater. The volcano remains at alert level ORANGE.

The La Soufrière volcano explosively erupted on Friday, April 9th, causing many to have to leave their homes in the red and orange zones, making these zones off-limits, however, authorities are now giving the green light for many of them to return home.

Displaced persons from the Red and Orange zones were given until May 31st to register with NEMO for relief support.

Invest Caribbean + The Ritzury Group is still raising money to now help Sponsor a family, Sponsor a farmer or Sponsor a small business owner as they try to relocate. Please help by logging on to the Saint Vincent Volcano Disaster Relief on GoFundMe or https://gofund.me/7231b33f

SEE RELATED STORIES:

They Never Left The Red Zone

Faces of the Displaced In St. Vincent

Inside The Devastation In St. Vincent

A View From Volcano Damaged Owia

Saint Vincent Volcano Eruption In Pictures

Close up On The Destruction Wrought By The Volcano

The Displaced Animals Of the La Soufriere Volcano