SCIENTISTS said the level of seismic activity within a volcano on the tiny British colony of Montserrat continued at a very high level yesterday. Authorities issued warnings to people returning from the northern safe zone into the danger area, telling them the risks were "extremely high".
"The eruptions would not need to be much larger than they are at the moment to kill people who are up here," said a scientist from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory as he took satellite readings from the Whites area, about half a mile from the volatile lava dome.
No large eruptions have occurred since Monday, when the rumbling mountain in the Soufriere Hills twice blasted hot volcanic ash 25,000 feet in the air.
Teams of scientists make regular trips to the volcano's edge to take measurements which tell them how much the mountain is moving. They say the readings give them an indication of how large a "climactic eruption" is likely to be.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents from the capital, Plymouth, and the south end of the 11 by seven mile eastern Caribbean island on April 3rd. However, many residents risk a return to the danger zone each day out of economic necessity, tending to animals and harvesting crops which thrive on the mountain's fertile slopes.