Montserrat

• Where?

Soufriere Hills in Montserrat, in the Caribbean

• When?

Began erupting in August 1995, main eruption in June 1997

• What was the plate boundary?

Destructive plate boundary, Atlantic (oceanic) [subducted under] and Caribbean (continental)

• What type of eruption was it?

August 1995-> : dense clouds of vocanic ash

June 1997: pyroclastic flow (mixture of volcanic fragments, ash , mud and toxic gases at a temperature of over 500*C and at a speed of 130km/h

• 2/3 of the island was covered with ash
• 50% of the population (total population=11,000) were evacuated to the north of the island
• people had to live in makeshift shelters
• 23 people died in 1997
• Plymouth became deserted
• floods (as valleys were blocked with ash)
• airport and port were destroyed
• farmland was destroyed
• forest fires (caused by the pyroclastic flows)
• many schools and hospitals were destroyed

• What did this result in?

people were living in makeshift shelters

it was very cramped

disease could easily spread as there wasn't a clean water supply

the Britsish government spent millions on aid

many people left the island and the population fell to just 3500

• What does this indicate?

That the evacuation process was effective as  it is a low number of deaths

• However the evacuation process was expensive

• What did this mean for rescue?

rescue was very difficult as it could not be done by boat and there wasn't space to land as the airport was destroyed.

• What did this mean for children?

their education was disrupted as there was nowhere for them to go - charities began to set up emergency schools

• What did this mean for the injured?

their was nowhere fot them to be treated which may lead to death

• What did this mean for the homeless?

there was nowhere that could be used for emergency accomodation as schools are often used for this

• What were the secondary effets of the volcano?

most of the southern area was destroyed and any remaining inhabitantshad to endure harsh living conditions in the North - went on for months, nowhere to treat the injued as hospitals destroyed, very cramped

transport remained a problem as port and airport remained closed - new airport wasn't built until 10 years later, lost tourists, lost money

tourist indistry is still siffering with few visitors except cruise ships looking at the volcano - loss of money and tourists damaged the economy

over half the population left the island and did not return - people had lost their homes and businesses, by 2010 the population had risen to 5000

• Evacuation (7,000 people to neighbouring island Antigua)
• Abandonment of Plymouth
• British Government gave £41 million for compensation and resdevelopment
• Unemployment rose due to lack of tourism industry
• Money was given to individuals to help the to move to other countries
• Roits occured as locals complained that the British Government wasn't doing enough to help
• Providing people with fresh food and water
• Providing medical care

• Exclusion zone set up
• 3 year redevelopment programme - houses, schools, medical services, infrastructure, agriculture - funded by UK (£100 million)
• Younger people left as they saw little chance of work
• Volcanic observatory was built - to monitor the volcano - the MVO
• Islanders were helped to understnad the risks and reduce problems for the future
• New roads and airport built (10 years later costing £11 million)
• Services in the North were expanded
• Many people had moved back by 2005
• Volcano resulted in a growth in tourisms, but despite new airport, it is questionable whether tourism will return in large numbers