Government Information Service

The Volcanic Explanation
For The 24 Hour Period Ending 7 AM On Monday May 05, 1997
A Presentation Of The Government Information Services
In Conjunction With The MVO.

The current alert level is AMBER


Activity over the last 24 hours at the Soufriere Hills Volcano has been similar to that of the last reporting period.

There have been in the region of 100 rockfall signals and some of them led to small pyroclastic flows. However, these tapered off overnight.

There were some long period earthquakes recorded and also three regional earthquakes were measured by the seismic system.

For the last 24 hours visibility has been poor on the dome, however it was noticed that there is an accumulation of debris in the upper parts of the Tar River Valley next to the southern crater wall.

Environmental monitoring continues with water and ash samples being taken over the weekend. The ash is sent to England for testing. Some EDM measurements were taken over the weekend but no results are available as yet.

The dome is steaming quite vigorously this morning (Monday) and there have been some light ashfalls.

Government Information Service