Featured Story - Visit to an effusive erupting volcano La Soufriere, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
January 27th, 2021
The La Soufrière volcano is currently experiencing an active effusive eruption. The island is on Orange Alert, which means all residents within a certain distance to the volcano should be ready to evacuate within 48 hours.
On January 14th 2021, Paradise Adventures CEO, Desron Rodrigues, and some hiking friends visited the crater of the volcano and took footages of the growing dome. The footages went viral and created quite a stir. While the reactions were mixed, with some crediting the crew with updating the population on how fast the dome was growing, others of course, called the crew irresponsible, publicity seeking and even crazy. Rather than seeking publicity, this is in fact part of Desron’s livelihood; working in the tourism industry combined with his love for nature and adventure. Hence, naturally, Desron and his crew’s curiosity got the best of them.
Desron and crew are seasoned hikers of the St. Vincent & the Grenadines terrain and with a decade of experience exploring the volcano, all individuals took all the necessary precautions before and during the hike. An experienced hiker as Desron, does not visit the summit and not know the dangers, or have respect for this majestic and magnificent piece of nature. After all, what is better than enjoying the job you wake up each day to do?
Up until the recent effusive eruption of La Soufriere, Desron and his crew made frequent trips, 2 to 3 times per week to the summit of the volcano. They have camped overnight in the crater many times last year and prior. The footages became popular almost instantly and this was due to the fact that the volcano’s new lava dome had grown much larger since the previous public report. One benefit from this episode was, a national dialogue was started on the preparedness of evacuation plans, potentially combined with a growing Covid pandemic crisis. As for the negative comments, they understood that it comes with the territory and they made no excuses or tried to justify their actions as they did not put anyone in danger. If anything, they informed the public out of a sense of public duty.
To set the record straight, Desron and friends do realize the dangers of the volcano and agree that no one should visit La Soufriere at this time and everyone should stay tuned to the daily updates from NEMO and the UWI Seismic Centre.
