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Montserrat Volcano Eruption, 1995

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Montserrat Volcano Eruption, 1995
Montserrat Volcano Eruption 1995

Ten years past since the abrupt eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat leaving locals and tourists devastated. (Date) marked the day of when the said to be inactive volcano erupted. Due to a partial collapse of the dome the volcano's crater, loads of ash, hot gases, and rocks was shot out approximately 15 km into the sky. From this, many sirens were triggered and a massive evacuation took place. No lives were taken. Although, major damage in houses, hospitals, airports and community centers was found.

After the terrifying event, the director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Paul Cole, stated that this eruption appeared to have ejected the most material in four years. He also estimated that ten to fifteen percent of the hardened lava in the dome of the volcano had collapsed. "When we're looking at the lava dome now, there's a large scoop out of it that's missing," Cole said.

Ten years prior to the event, scientists warned the British government that Soufriere Hills volcano still remained active and would erupt again. However, their predictions were ignored. The islanders were never aware of the fact that they were living in a potential zone of disaster. From this, and the deposition of the ignored report presented by scientists, it may have costed UK taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The beginning sentence of the report read: “Soufriere Hills volcano is active and will erupt again. It is a potential threat to many of the people that live in southern Montserrat." The report, not being specific on dates and when the eruption would occur, suggested that all public resources should be moved out of the capital, Plymouth.

Two years after the report, the Island was devastated by Hurricane Hugo. This hurricane caused a huge disaster on the island and presented an opportunity for the British government to follow up on the report. However this was never addressed.

In 1997, another

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