The level of activity at the Soufriere Hill Volcano has been low within the last update period - 4:00 yesterday to 7:00 this morning. Small rockfall signals continued to be the dominant feature on the records of the closest seismograph stations to the summit of the volcano. One moderate sized long period earthquake was also recorded. Low level broadband tremor occurred intermittently with slight fluctuations in amplitude.
Visibility was slightly better yesterday than over the previous few days, and a helicopter flight enabled good views of the lower flanks of the dome. As expected, there were no major new deposits on the lower flanks, although new material was noted to the south of Castle Peak in the upper reaches of the South Fork of the Tar River. Little new material has fallen into the upper part of Fort Ghaut as yet, although the full width of the Gages Wall is now filled with debris from the dome. It is still not clear which areas on the upper flanks of the dome are most active, although growth is clearly still continuing. The viewing conditions were again poor this morning .
The volcano remains unstable and therefore continue threaten people and property on both the eastern and upper western flanks. The Tar River, Long Ground and Whites areas to the east and upper Fort Ghaut, Gages Village and Upper Amersham areas to the west are still extremely hazardous. The road between Lee's Estate and Ryners Village remains closed. People should not enter these areas under any circumstances. If they do, they put themselves and others at direct risk of very serious injury or death. Visits to the rest of the evacuated zone should be kept to an absolute minimum.