Montserrat Case Study

Soufriere Hills, Caribbean, Northern part of the Lesser Antilles

18th July 1995, Chances Peak in the south began erupting ash and dust

1996 Plymouth (Capital) evacuated

dormant for 300 years and then erupted 25th June 1997

Dome collapse = 5,000,000m cubed of hot rock and gases

Andesitic lava but mineral rich so good for vegetation

19 died

11,000 evacuated

pyroclastic flows and lahars destroyed land

3/4 of infrastructure destroyed

airport buried by lahars

£12m earned in volcanic tourism

growth in adventure tourism

water contamination

skill shortage due to recolation of residents

emmigration to the UK

unemployment rose from 7% to 50%

housing shortage so increased rent prices

Large scale evacuation by the British Navy

Monserrat volcano observatory built 1995

warning systems

NGO's, Red Cross helped with schools, medical teams and food distribution

£17m UK emergency aid

exclusion zone created

new infrastructure

3 year development plan