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WITHDRAWN Rapid Strengthening of the La Soufriere Volcano Monitoring During Eruption, Covid-19 and Dengue Fever Threats

Description: 

WITHDRAWN La Soufriere volcano of St. Vincent started to erupt effusively on 26 January 2020 and culminated in a series of explosions from 9-22 April. A team of personnel from the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) were rostered in and out of the island to strengthen the monitoring network, re-activate the Belmont Volcano Observatory and assist with the management of the crisis. A monitoring Network comprising 8 seismic stations, 6 GPS reference stations, 3 cameras, and an Electronic Distance Measurement network was established within days to a few weeks of the initial onset of the eruption. Most of the equipment was mobilized from the SRC headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago and shipped to St. Vincent on a Regional Security aircraft. This occurred at a time when the Covid-19 Pandemic was raging and there was a recent outbreak of Dengue Fever in St. Vincent. A subset of equipment was also mobilized from the MVO. During the explosive phase of the eruption, one station was destroyed, the power and communication links to two were severed and a fourth was covered with ash. With assistance from the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, the seismic network was restored in July.

This presentation chronicles the experience of the team leads, recounts the challenges, and outlines the lessons learned during the ordeal.

Session: Seismology's Role in Assessing Volcanic Hazard at Multiple Time Scales

Type: Oral

Date: 4/18/2023

Presentation Time: 11:00 AM (local time)

Presenting Author: Lloyd L. Lynch

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors