Thousands of Evacuations, Water Scarce
The La Soufrière eruption is creating an escalating a humanitarian crisis on the ground. While no casualties have been reported as a direct consequence of the explosion, thousands of people have been displaced and even more are affected across the island as the volcano has continued to rumble this week. The UN said Monday that the entire population of St. Vincent was left without clean water and electricity following Friday’s eruption, and officials say ash is continuing to contaminate water supplies. Meanwhile, a report issued by the World Health Organization and The Pan American Health Organization on Tuesday said that between 16,000 and 20,000 islanders were evacuated as a result of the explosion. More than 4,000 people were living in nearly 90 temporary shelters, and more than 2,000 said they were temporarily living with family and friends, the report said.
