VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

1.1.2. Volcanic Eruptions

The present dozen active volcanoes on or near the Caribbean islands are
restricted to the Lesser Antilles (Fig.1).

 
The number of eruptions between 1680 and 1990 (Fig.3) shows a maximum of 13 for Soufriere on
Guadeloupe and 10 each for Mount Pelee on Martinique (well-known for its
disastrous 1902 eruption and nuee ardente destroying St. Pierre and
killing some 28,000 people) and Kick'Em Jenny, a submarine volcano north
of Grenada.  Just recently, in 1995, Montserrat has experienced a series
of eruptions and extensive evacuations.  
Worldwide, over 500 active volcanoes have erupted in the last 500 years
killing some 200,000 people (i.e., average of 400 people per year; Bolt
et al., 1975). 
After 1902, the only loss of life from volcanic eruptions on Caribbean 
islands occurred on St. Vincent during the eruption of its Soufriere (the
"Smith" of Caribbean volcano names), which was responsible for over 1,600
deaths, as well as property losses of several million US dollars since
1718 (Robertson, 1993) 
Considerable efforts have been expended on prediction and preparation of
hazard zone maps for St.Vincent; on August 24, 1978, a warning was given
of a pending eruption, which took place in June, 1979.(Sigurdsson et al.,
1979). According to Robertson (1994), Vincentians feel that 'these events
are inevitable and their efforts cannot be mitigated,'so they accord no 
high priority to prevention and preparedness.  
In our survey, 12% of 75 respondents rated the hazard of volcanic
eruptions "N.A.," and the remaining 88.6 considered them "no problem."  
It should be pointed out, however, that no responses were received from
Martinique and Guadeloupe, and that our survey took place before the 1995
eruptions and extensive evacuation on Montserrat.

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