On Wednesday 9, July scientists at the MVO were reporting that a hybrid swarm of earthquakes had formed and these were beginning to intensify causing them to become larger and more closely spaced. Within 48 hours, the swarm had merged into a continuous tremor signal.
On Saturday 12, July a series of moderate sized pyroclastic flows occured in the Tar River Valley with the first one reaching the sea by mid morning. The flow activity increased slowly through the afternoon until it became almost continuous. Flows also occurred in Tuitt's Ghaut and White's Ghaut reaching Spanish Point.
In the early evening the activity increased with much more energetic flows in the Tar River Valley and by 8 pm the flows were near continuous. The flows then increased in size even further and were travelling out to sea for a distance of 2 km in the area at the mouth of the Tar River Valley.
For most of the day the resulting ash was falling in the Exclusion Zone and out to sea but by 10 pm as the action intensified and because of a switch in wind direction ash began to fall in northern Montserrat. Ash was particular heavy in Salem, Old Towne, Lime Kiln Bay, Olveston and Woodlands. As the night progressed ashfall was reported over all the island and following a series of explosive eruptions between 11 pm and midnight showers of rock fragments and pumice fell island wide. Pieces up to 40 mm across fell in the vicinity of the MVO and large pieces were also collected from Salem Park the following morning. Activity continued to about 2 am on Sunday 13, July before subsiding slowly.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) in Washington, USA reported that ash from the eruption reached an altitude of 50,000 feet.
When people awoke on Sunday morning the island was covered in a blanket of thick wet ash and rock fragments. ZJB, who had remained on air overnight, reported that most church services had been cancelled as roads were in poor conditions.
The Emergency Department briefed both H.E. the Governor and the Hon Chief Minister on the damage to the island during Sunday morning and the VEG met early on Monday morning to assess damage reports and to order the clean up campaign. DfID immediately authorised the funds for the Government of Montserrat to start the clean up campaign which started in earnest on Tuesday morning.
By the week following the eruption and dome collapse the island was a hive of activity as clean up crews from both the public and private sector strived to remove ash from roads, public buildings, offices and houses.
Emergency supplies of ashmasks and drinking water were brought in and H.E. the Governor signed a Proclamation on 14, July declaring the island a Disaster Area to pave the way for overseas based agencies to assist.
For further pictures of the results of the dome collapse click here: 12 July Photos
The following is the text of a Government House press release of 18 July 2003:
"Following the meeting of VEG this morning it has been decided that the October 2002 Exclusion Zone around the fringes of the Belham Valley will be open during normal daylight hours of 6 am to 6 pm from tomorrow, Saturday 19, July 2003. The area will be open 7 days per week to people with property in the area and their employees and workmen.
The usual safety precuations shall continue to be observed and if the sirens sound during the periods spent in the area, everyone must follow the normal routine and evacuate the area immediately. There are still risks crossing the Belham Valley and persons with property on Iles Bay Hill are urged not to visit their property unless it is of the upmost importance and then special care must be taken when crossing the valley. During rainy periods, crosssings should not be attempted.
The RMPF are advising that property owners, employees and workmen entering the area are no longer required to report to the Salem Police Station or to duty officers at the entry gates. However, persons must vacate the area by 6 pm, - the Police have been asked to enforce this.
Anyone entering the area is asked to proceed with caution as the roads in the area are in poor condition. Public Works crews are currently working in the area to help alleviate these problems. Property owners in the area are also advised that utilities are still subject to outages.
The area will be opened on a 24 hour basis as soon as the scientists advise that it is safe to do so. At present there is still a risk of further explosive eruptions."
The Royal Fleet Auxilliary (RFA) Wave Knight paid a one-day visit to Montserrat on 19 August. During the visit the Captain, Chris Fell, and other members of the ship's crew received a briefing from the MVO and the Emergency Unit. Capt. Fell also called on HE The Acting Governor, Sir Howard Fergus. Later in the day the ship had an opportunity to circle the island to a get a first hand impression of the impact of the volcano.
Mr Emile Duberry, Manager of the Montserrat Water Authority says since the latest volcanic eruption in the heavy ash fall over the island the demand for water has overtaken the production level.
He told listeners to ZJB, that the current production level is between 304 and 320 thousand gallons per day. Mr Duberry said before the volcanic eruption the demand level was about 308 thousand gallons per day.
" So currently, the demand exceeds the production level...the demand could have been greater if the water rationing programme was not in effect," he said. Consumers islandwide receive water between the hours of 6 - 9 am and between the hours of 4 - 7 pm daily.
The MWA manager also addressed the question of discoloration (brown water) and the possibility of water contamination due to heavy ash fall throughout the island.
" Today according to our tests, we have a chlorine residue of 0.3 milligram's per litre - that is an indication the water is free of any contamination," said the head of the Water Authority.
He noted that discoloration is as a result of company personnel having to turn on and off the water mains and also because many of the distribution pipes are galvanized and in areas such as Woodlands when the water is off and then returns, it scales the inner walls of the pipes. " This does not signifies that the water is contaminated..it is merely that the water is "colored" or " dirty".
In relation to the cleaning of the water spring catchment areas, Mr Duberry said the ash fall impacted heavily on the springs especially on the Hope Spring in Salem. He said that a crew from the MWA is trying to clear the immediate surroundings around the Hope Spring in an effort to prevent any intrusion of the acidic water when it rains. " If it is not cleaned properly we could have problems," warned the MWA manager. The catchment areas, according to Mr Duberry, are all properly secured.
The Water Authority's Chief Executive officer also said that the water levels are "very low" and he is hoping that in time they will again return to safe levels. " We would like to see each reservoir at least half full."
Mr Duberry said there is a desperate need on Montserrat for alternative sources of water. " We need to have more production, we need to get more water in the country."
He said the MWA staff is hoping to get into Belham because " we know there's underground water there..we would like to tap into that source. The source has a potential to deliver between 72 and 100,000 gallons of water per day. Unfortunately, it is close to the river bed but with good engineering we can take out this water and send it to Hope and eventually disburse it throughout the distribution network."
Montserrat currently has storage capacity for one million gallons of water. Most of the storage is concentrated in the Salem area (about 500,000 gallons); with smaller amounts from Lawyers mountain to St John's in the north.
Mr Duberry said the Montserrat government recently approved extra water storage capacity. Construction of a large tank ( 500,000 gallons capacity) will begin at Baker Hill shortly. " Baker Hill is a strategic location..the advantage being that water can be fed by gravity to both Brades and St John's," said the MWA manager.
" If we had this new tank in place before the volcanic eruptions we would not be under so much pressure now. A supply and build contract has been awarded. The contractor is due on the island next Monday."
Asked about his staff who like other essential services personnel on the island have had to work extended hours, Mr Duberry said they are pretty tired but they are coping. However, he said that the authorities have to put some system in place so many of the essential services staffers can get time off to take care of their own personal needs at home and their families.
The MWA said that the water rationing programme is likely to continue for a while longer until the reservoirs can return to acceptable levels.
Readers may care to see these two photos taken of Government House as it was in the pre-volcano days and how it looks in recent times (photo is from 2002).
In preparation for the 2003 hurricane season, the Emergency Department held two major events in late June / early July.
A public meeting was held at the Brades Pentecostal Church on 1 July to explain to residents the procedures to follow in the event of a hurricane approaching Montserrat. The list of hurricane shelters for 2003 was announced and the Resident's Guide for the Hurricane Season was distributed. Everyone attending the meeting was uged to liaise with their District Committees who provide an island wide network of support to the Emergency Department.
Earlier, on 25 June, Emergency officials gathered at the EOC in St John's to carry out a desk top simulation exercise of an impending storm. The National Hurricane Conference exercise co-chaired by H.E. the Governor and the Hon Chief Minister dealt with an approaching storm. In attendance were officials from the health sector, PWD, Utility Companies, NGO's, the private sector including Port & Heliport officials and EOC staff & volunteers.
The exercise was a huge success showing the island's strengths and weaknesses and pinpointing any shortcomings that the recovery process, post hurricane, might throw up. His Excellency the Governor told a press conference afterwards that he was pleased at how well the exercise went and that it was a vast improvement on previous conferences.
The Director of the Emergency Department, Lt. Horatio Tuitt, told the conference that weather predictors were warning of an "above average" hurricane season for 2003 and also pointed out that the season had got off to an exceptionally early start.
United Kingdom (UK) passport fees are to be increased from 2 October 2003. From that date, an adult 32 page passport will cost £56.50, an adult 48 page will cost £67.70 and a child's passport will cost £36.50 when applied for from Montserrat.
The Government of Montserrat also imposes an EC$20 handling fee.
Application forms for UK passports are available from the Department of Administration and the Governor's Office.
Some 67 students from the Brades Primary School and the St Augustine RC Primary School graduated from the island's 2002 / 2003 DARE programme at a ceremony held at the Brades Pentecostal Church on 11, July and attended by H.E. the Governor, Mr Anthony J. Longrigg, CMG.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programme has been taught in Montserrat since the early 1990's. It is an anti drugs / self esteem building programme taught by specially trained police officers who carry out the programme in classrooms in the island's primary schools. There is a community based DARE Committee who raise funds for and lends support to the programme.
The 11 July event was chaired by Richard Aspin and included remarks from the Director of Education, Mrs O. Jemmotte, with music from the Junior Calypso King, Stedroy Cabey. Threee students from each of the two schools read their essays, each with an anti drugs theme. The DARE theme song was sung by all 67 graduates of the programme.
The feature address was given by Sgt. Atlee Rodney the DARE co-ordinator in Antigua and who has Montserratian roots. He urged the graduating students to become role models for the youth of Montserrat and to put into practice the fundamental principles that the DARE programme had taught them.
Attending the ceremony was Montserrat's first DARE officer Rtd Sgt John Matthews who now lives in England and he congratulated current DARE Officer Kelly on all his hard work.
All the graduates and former graduates of the programme were awarded Tee shirts by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Simon Morson and all 2003 graduates received a certificate from Commissioner of Police, John Douglas. The vote of thanks was given by Opal Skerritt of the St Augustine School.
REPORT FROM SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The newly formed Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has now released the full report of its meeting 5-7 May 2003. Their findings are in two parts:
Previous reports can be accessed using the links further down this page.
The report from the two independent observers who attended the SAC meeting, Dr. Jean-Christophe Komorowski of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), and Dr. Robert I. Tilling, U. S. Geological Survey, is also now available:
- Main Report;
- Appendix 1;
- Appendix 2;
- Appendix 3.
The Volcano Risk Assessment Panel (RAP) published two addenda to their last full Scientific Assessment of September 2002:
To see the latest Risk Map Click Here.
In an effort to ensure that reports made by the United Kingdom under the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) are publicised as widely as possible they are accessible on this website. For the full version of the UK's 15th report under this Convention please click here: 15th Report;
For the observations on this report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination click here: CERD Observations:
For the UK's replies to these observations which constitute the 16th report please click here: 16th Report.
The 16th report is being updated for an examination by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 6 -7 August. An updated version will be on this website when available.
Hard copies of the reports are available at the Governor's Office, Public Library, Attorney General's Chambers and the Office of the Clerk of Council.
The synthesis report on human rights issues in the OTs produced by Social Development Direct is now available. Click the link to access as a Word document: SDD Synthesis Report
There are also several annexes to this report:
- Annex 2: Civil Society Organisations in the OTs
- Annex 3: UK and Regional Human Rights Organisations
- Annex 4: Terms of Reference for Project Officer
- Annex 5: Human Rights contact points in the OTs
- Annex 6: Thematic Recommendations
- Annex g: Montserrat
For a full listing of all press releases, including those related to Entry into the Evacuation Zone, please go to the Press Releases Page.
There is an updated list of links relevant to Montserrat on this website. To check out the new information click 'Links' at the top of this page or Here
