The government of the UK and Montserrat sent help but later on there was a manifestation for more aid, £10 million aid was given by International Development Secretary Claire Short. The British HMS Liverpool had greatly contributed to evacuate the population to other islands; Antigua and Barbuda. 7 000 people ( one third of the population) was evacuated; 4 000 to the UK.
Earthquakes are often in volcanic areas, which depends upon the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes, they can be used to predict volcanic eruption.
Places evacuated:
Things added to the watch over the island:
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/miscdocs/prelimvolcrisk.html
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/miscdocs/mvo.html
Earthquakes are often in volcanic areas, which depends upon the magnitude and frequency of earthquakes, they can be used to predict volcanic eruption.
Places evacuated:
- Amersham
- Amersham Estate
- Cork Hill
- Gages
- Lee's
- Molyneux
- North Olveston (since re-settled)
- Old Towne (since re-settled)
- Saint George's Hill
- Salem (since re-settled)
- Week's
- Woodlands(since re-settled)
Things added to the watch over the island:
- The Authorities have announced that there should be no entry in some areas and if they should cross any places, they should register at the Salem Police Station. The people aren't allowed to cross the Belham Valley during rainfall or high volcanic activities
- Residents are urged to stay tuned to Radio Montserrat (ZJB) for further updates and they may call the DMCA at 491 7166 during office hours
- An extensive seismograph network was established around the volcano to measure earthquake strength and depth.
- Earth deformation meters and tiltmeters were also put in place to show any signs of the ground swelling or deflating as magma rose within the volcano.
- A satellite location GPS (global positioning system) was also used to check ground movements.
- An instrument called COSPEC was used to measure gas emissions from the volcano, particularly sulphur dioxide which is a good indicator of magma type and movement.
- The pH of rainwater was monitored as it gives an indication of the magmatic gas content.
- Geologists regularly flew into the
most dangerous areas to sample
new flow deposits, measure
cracks caused by the volcano
swelling and check the growth of
the dome and created a website called MVO (Montserrat Volcano Observatory). Their aim is to research on how the volcano develops over time, what happened in the past and warn the authorities on any hazardous activity. They watch over the volcano by flying over it, sometimes observe on foot. They analyst the gas coming out of the volcano.
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/miscdocs/prelimvolcrisk.html
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/west.indies/soufriere/govt/miscdocs/mvo.html