Date: Tue, 15 Aug 95 12:13:46 EDT
From: Emergency Information Administrator
Subject: Montserrat: Volcano DHA-09
MONTSERRAT- VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
DHA- GENEVA INFORMATION REPORT NO. 9
15 AUGUST 1995
1. THE CARIBBEAN DISASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCY (CDERA) REPORTS
THAT OVERALL VOLCANIC ACTIVITY HAS BEEN SLIGHTLY LOWER OVER THE PAST WEEK.
SOME EARTHQUAKES FELT ON FRIDAY 11 AUGUST ON ANTIGUA, GUADALOUPE AND
ST.MAARTEN AND NEARBY ISLANDS WERE, ACCORDING TO SCIENTISTS, NOT RELATED TO
THE VOLCANIC ACTIVITY IN MONTSERRAT.
2. ON SATURDAY 12 AUGUST A GAS VENTING EPISODE TRIGGERED A
SERIES OF SMALL EARTHQUAKES. THE SCIENTISTS REPORTED THAT OVER 100
EARTHQUAKES WERE DETECTED DURING THE PERIOD UP TO 7:00 AM ON SUNDAY
13 AUGUST. OF THESE ONLY 37 WERE FELT BY THE RESIDENTS, THE LARGEST
OCCURRING AT 2:22 AM ON THE 13TH AND RECORDING A MAGNITUDE OF 3.5
ON THE RICHTER SCALE. THE EPICENTRE OF THE CLUSTER OF QUAKES PLACED
THEM BELOW THE ST. GEORGES HILL, NORTH EAST OF THE VOLCANO. EXPERTS
HAVE STATED HOWEVER THAT THIS DOES NOT REPRESENT VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
AT ST. GEORGES HILL.
3. THE CURRENT ALERT REMAINS AT THE ORANGE LEVEL (MOBILIZATION
OF PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT FOR POSSIBLE EVACUATION), WHICH IS
CONSIDERED TO BE ADEQUATE AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER THE TEAM OF US AND
CARIBBEAN SCIENTISTS BASED AT A LOCALLY ESTABLISHED OBSERVATORY
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION ON A 24 HOUR BASIS. IN ADDITION
TO MONITORING INSTRUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN INSTALLED, DAILY
RECONNAISSANCE OVERFLIGHTS OF THE VOLCANO HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE.
4. THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTRE (EOC) IS ALSO MONITORING
THE SITUATION ON A 24 HOUR BASIS. RESIDENTS ARE BEING UPDATED
THROUGH FREQUENT NEWS RELEASES AND BY STATEMENTS FROM THE GOVERNOR
AND CHIEF MINISTER.
5. ON AUGUST 9TH, JUST OVER 400 PERSONS WERE REPORTED HOUSED
IN 9 SHELTERS IN THE NORTH OF THE ISLAND. THE REDUCTION IN ACTIVITY
HAS SINCE THEN PERMITTED THE GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE THESE NUMBERS
SIGNIFICANTLY. MEANWHILE CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR POSSIBLE FURTHER
EVACUATION CONTINUE TO BE REFINED AT THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS.
PREPARATION OF AN EVACUATION SITE IN THE NORTH OF THE ISLAND IS
UNDERWAY. AN ALTERNATE EOC HAS ALSO BEEN ESTABLISHED AND AN ADVANCE
LIAISON TEAM HAS BEEN STATIONED IN THE NORTH.
6. AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL AN INTERAGENCY COORDINATING TEAM
(IACT) BASED IN ANTIGUA HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO COORDINATE
PREPARATIONS FOR A POSSIBLE EVACUATION TO ANTIGUA. THE GOVERNMENT
OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA CONTINUES TO DEVELOP ITS PREPAREDNESS PLAN
FOR HOSTING EVACUEES. THE CDERA COORDINATING UNIT AND THE NATIONAL
DISASTER ORGANISATIONS (NDOS) OF PARTICIPATING STATES HAVE BEEN
ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN PREPAREDNESS MEASURES.
7. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN PLAYING A LEAD ROLE IN THE
RESPONSE AND HAS PROVIDED OR FINANCED MOST OF THE EXTERNAL
ASSISTANCE. SEVERAL OTHERS ARE ON STANDBY TO ASSIST IF NECESSARY.
TELEPHONE NO: +41-22-917-1234
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY ONLY: TELEPHONE +41-22-917-2010
DESK OFFICER: ERIK HAEGGLUND, DIRECT TEL: +41-22-917-32.99
PRESS TO CONTACT: MRS. MOULIN-ACEVEDO, TEL: +41-22-917-28-56
TELEX: 414242 DHA CH
FAX: +41-22-917-0023
ELECTRONIC MAIL: INTERNET DHA GVA AT UN.ORG
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