Down in the ashes / Volcano Watch
Publication: Daily Nation
Date: Mon, Jun 30, 1997
Page: 28A
Byline: Terry Ally in Montserrat
DOWN but not out!
That's how Governor Frank Savage describes the "devastating blow" to Montserrat by the Soufriere Hills volcano.
The entire farming belt in the centre of the island has been wiped out during the last few days, two-thirds of the housing stock destroyed or out of commission and 75 per cent of the infrastructure gone.
"It has been a devastating blow to the island," Savage said yesterday.
He told the DAILY NATION that load-shedding and rationing fuel stocks would last for "a number of days", but he did not envisage difficulties with food supplies.
The governor felt sure that the remaining 6 500 Montserratians of the original 11 500 would want to rebuild the country, but warned that if the population dwindled to "critical mass", there wouldn't be sufficient people to make it worth the effort.
"Two-thirds of the housing stock are either destroyed or out of commission. The homes are under threat, and even if the activity dies down, people will feel unsafe returning to them," he said.
Ash falls have scorched the earth and stripped it bare of vegetation, turning once lush green areas and bountiful fields into stretches of ash resembling powdered cement scattered everywhere.
The chemical reaction from the gases in the ash clouds has also caused (sulphuric) acid rain to fall in those areas, destroying the environment.
The ash has wrecked all the coral reefs to the south of the island and the underwater scene is like a barren wasteland.
Savage said that there was need to provide houses for the estimated 1 250 people still in emergency shelters - and quickly.
"We need decent accommodation quickly and if we don't move quickly and the population falls below critical mass, life will be unsustainable, no matter how much money the British government pushes into the economy."
He could not define "critical mass" but presumed it could be below 4 000.
The governor appealed for private sector funds to help rebuild the Emerald Isle.
The Under-Secretary in the Foreign Office with responsibility for the Caribbean, Baroness Simmons, arrived in Montserrat yesterday and is scheduled to meet with reporters early this morning.
HMS Liverpool, with a complement of 2 500 men and women, arrived Saturday afternoon.
Its helicopter, which has a winch, has been lowering police down into Bramble Village to conduct searches for survivors and bodies. Nine bodies have been recovered so far while 19 people are still missing.