With the closure of retail businesses from April 12 due to ashfall from St Vincent’s La Soufriere volcano, Barbados has embarked on a nationwide cleanup campaign from today, April 12, 2021.
Though more eruptions are expected to dump additional ash on the island in the coming days, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said it is important to start the process now to not only get an estimated cost of damage but to safeguard whatever property the island can, through cleaning.
Only hardware stores and essential services employees are required to show up for duty, a decision which came after talks with the Barbados Private Sector Association and Barbados Workers Union.
“We have gotten accustomed to this in the past. Those [of] you [who] can work remotely, please work remotely. Those of you, however, who know you are involved in cleaning up, environmental assessment, in any part of the engineering or technical departments of your business or the government, then you will need to report for duty in order for us to do these assessments and clean up properly,” Mottley stated.
Scaled down bus service is available since it is “too hazardous to maintain a full schedule for persons at this point in time.” But residents at home are advised to clean their surroundings and refrain from driving as much as possible.
“We’re gonna fight this with sense. It may take a few dollars and cents too but we need to fight this with sense,” the prime minister said.
“Do not play foolish, do not play brave, do not feel that you know everything and better than everybody else because this is how accidents will happen,” Mottley warned Barbadians.
La Soufriere has been erupting since Friday April 9, with the last one at 4:15 a.m. on Monday April 12 which sent dangerous pyroclastic density currents down the valleys of La Soufriere.
St Vincent’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on Sunday evening had asked government workers who were not displaced or evacuated to report to work today. This morning he admitted that though his announcement was before the pyroclastic flow began, for the essential services such as supermarkets, gas stations, workers would need to show up for duty. He also said that the port would need to be open to receive aid.
The embattled island welcomed the arrival of the Bolivarian Navy Ship “AB Goajira” (T-63) from Venezuela with humanitarian aid and a vessel with water from Grenada today.
Dr. Gonsalves commented on radio on Monday on what he described as a dwindling water supply in St. Vincent which is being made worse by rain experienced over the weekend. He was concerned that though the rain may clean up areas in the green zone, the process of restoring water to communities would take a longer period when ash is washed into water catchment sites and rivers.
Meanwhile, water services officials have been able to access a few wells and springs on the island and distribute to some locations.
Moreover, the prime minister expressed concern about a possible surge in the coronavirus which he believes would compound the country’s plight.
Health officials announced that there were 14 new cases from 34 samples received and tested on Sunday. All cases were contacts of recently diagnosed Covid-19 patients.
“I want to urge persons again, please take the vaccine. It’s available, it’s safe and it will help us get over this problem during the volcanic eruption easier and better, and we will get back on a more normal road thereafter,” he said.
“I am deeply concerned about a possible spiral of COVID-19 cases at this time,” Gonsalves said.
There are currently 131 active cases in St Vincent.
On the issue of agriculture, Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel, after visiting the eastern side of La Soufriere volcano on Sunday, lamented that the sector is now nonexistent.
He explained on radio on Monday that farms are “basically gone” and that “the tree crops have been denuded.”
“It is only the stems that are standing in some cases…breadfruit, coconuts, mangoes, soursop, all of those tree crops are basically gone. Things such as plantains and bananas, all of those are gone,” he said.
“There is not going to be very much food available from that area for quite a long time,” he bemoaned.
Prayers For all. Let’s lend a hand.