The activity at the Soufriere Hills Volcano has reduced a little over the past 24 hours.
The main seismic activity has been in the form of rockfall signals which are thought to be over the Galways Wall, in addition there have been a few long period, hybrid and volcano-tectonic earthquakes. Yesterday (Weds) there was a large regional earthquake also recorded.
Over the past 24 hours the northern and eastern faces of the dome have been steaming vigorously and a few more small pyroclastic flows went into the White River Valley. These produced ash clouds reaching as high as 10,000 feet.
Good visibility yesterday allowed helicopter inspections of the scar left by the weekend's pyroclastic flows over the Galways Wall, the scar has enlarged over the last couple of days but the deep chute cut into the wall is filling up with debris.
Yesterday afternoon there were mud flows down Fort Ghaut following some rain in the mountains. As a result of this and some overnight activity the Ghaut this morning has filled in significantly.
Some GPS and EDM measurements have been carried out in the last 24 hours, results will be published shortly.
The situation on the volcano seems to have stabalised a little but further pyroclastic flows are expected. Residents should remain vigilant and stay tuned to ZJB for updates. Ash levels in the Plymouth area are at extremely high levels and check points into the unsafe zones are insisting that everyone should have their ash masks with them.
The alert level remains at ORANGE, which means there should be no one at nightime in zones A,B,C, and D. There is no entrance to zones A and B at all but in C and D there can be short daytime visits if there is a rapid means of exit available.
Government Information Service