By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. April 19, 2021: As the La Soufriere volcano continues to explode in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the country’s prime minister is forecasting that “hundreds of millions of dollars” will be needed to build back the country.
In an interview with the Trinidad Express, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, said the scale of the destruction is way bigger than 1979, and has put more public and private assets significantly at risk, such as schools, clinics, bridges and other public buildings.
He said the entire northern third of the island has become completely desolate” as houses, agriculture and livestock has been decimated.
Across the north-east, he said the issue was ash, which has covered vast expanses of territory, while the pyroclastic flows across the north-west has caused tremendous damage to vegetation.
He said also that the challenges of managing the fallout from this natural eruption added to those presented by the COVID-19 restrictions and dislocations.
“Clearly the explosive volcanic eruptions add a further layer to the multi-dimensional challenges of health, the economy, the social situation and security,” he told the paper. “Thus far, we are meeting our commitments, but it is a problematic issue.”
Last Thursday, April 15th, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, issued an appeal for greater assistance to the government and people of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
