Montserrat Spewing - Gov't. Evacuates About 300 Residents Around Volcano

Oct. 8, 2002

SALEM, Montserrat, - The government began evacuating residents near a volcano Tuesday because it has been spewing ash for more than a week, officials said.

 About 300 people living in a valley on the Caribbean island near the Soufriere Hills Volcano were asked to leave their homes andmove into shelters, said Peter Dunkley, a scientist at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

 It was unclear whether a major eruption was imminent, but Dunkley said the volcano's dome — a mountain of ash at its tip — had reached its highest point in recent memory.

 Heavy rain could cause the dome to collapse, sending liquefied ash, gases and rocks flowing for several miles.

 Montserrat lost about half its land and its capital, Plymouth, to the hot, rock-spewing eruptions of the volcano that began in 1995. The island's population shrank from 11,000 to about 4,000 as people moved off the island.

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