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A vent on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent erupted on Friday ( April 9 ) abide by increased seismal activity and mandatory evacuations in the area , spit ash tens of thousands of feet into the air .

At 9:08 a.m. ET , St. Vincent and Grenadines ' National Emergency Management Organization ( NEMO)tweetedthat the vent had just wake up up in an " volatile eruption . " At 9:45 a.m. ET , the organization tweeted that the ash tree plumes from the volcano , named La Soufrière , move up up to 20,000 base ( 6,000 meters ) into the air and were headed east into the Atlantic Ocean .

La Soufriere volcano in St. Vincent.

La Soufriere volcano in St. Vincent.

On Thursday ( April 8) , the local political science issued compulsory excretion for multitude who lived around the volcano , after scientist had alerted them of increase seismic activity that propose magma was stuffy to the surface and an bam was close at hand , The Associated Press report . The evacuation orders were meant for the just about 16,000 people living in the so - call red zona around the volcano , consort to the AP . Some evacuees went to nearby shelter while others were expected to room empty sail ship ; some were require to be carry to nearby islands , the AP cover .

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evacuation are continuing to bring people in the ruby and orangish zone to safety , NEMO twirp at 11:46 a.m. ET . But " heavy ash tree fall has halted the process somewhat since visibility is extremely poor . "

Satellite data collected on Jan. 3, 2021 shows a thermal anomaly in the La Soufrière volcano, suggesting magma close to the surface.

Satellite data collected on Jan. 3, 2021 shows a thermal anomaly in the La Soufrière volcano, suggesting magma close to the surface.

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A satellite photo of an island with a giant river of orange lava

Thepandemicadds a second layer of difficulty to the voiding . But in a printing press conference on Thursday , Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that shelter and voiding would follow hard-and-fast wellness protocol like required mask eroding and societal distancing when possible , according to The New York Times .

La Soufrière laid torpid for decades after last erupting in 1979 , but it start showing signs of young natural action in recent December , allot to the Times . Before that , it erupted in 1902 and killed intimately 1,700 people , accord to the Times . There are n’t any immediate composition of casualty from this eruption , according to the AP .

Originally published on Live Science .

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