SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An explosive eruption rocked La Soufriere volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent on Friday after the government ordered thousands to evacuate their homes nearby.
Experts said the ash column rose more than 20,000 feet high and that the majority of the ash was headed northeast into the Atlantic Ocean.
However, heavy ashfall also was reported in communities around the volcano and beyond, with authorities saying some evacuations were limited by poor visibility.
Several flights also were canceled and islands including Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada prepared for light ashfall as the 4,003-foot volcano continued to rumble. Authorities reported two smaller explosions later Friday as the island braced for possible additional activity.
“More explosions could occur,” Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center said in a phone interview, adding that it was impossible to predict whether they might be bigger or smaller than the first or second one.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the eruption that occurred four days short of the 42nd anniversary of the last sizable eruption.
In the coastal town of Barrouallie, about 9 miles from the volcano, evacuees trudged toward shelters carrying backpacks, duffel bags and shopping bags stuffed with personal belongings after the explosion. Some prepared to stay there, while others were expected to board cruise ships or go to nearby islands that have offered help.
Others still waited for transportation to a shelter, including one family who stood for at least an hour by the side of a road under the sun with their children and suitcases as they awaited a ride from someone.
The volcano last erupted on April 13, 1979, and a previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.
The new eruption followed mandatory evacuation orders issued Thursday for the roughly 16,000 people who live in the red zone near the volcano in the island’s northern region.
