Montserrat Today
For Wednesday/Thursday February 25/26, 1998
Presented by the Information Unit of the
Government of Montserrat's Emergency Department
THE VOLCANIC EXPLANATION:
The activity at the Soufriere Hills Volcano has been dominated by earthquake signals but rockfall signals still remain low.
The earthquakes have been coming in swarms and the last one recorded started at about 1.50 am on Thursday morning. The swarms contain a mixture of volcano-tectonic and hybrid earthquakes with larger amplitudes than of late. The interval between swarms is between 12 and 14 hours.
There have been several clear views of the dome in the last few days and it is clear that the activity continues in the Galways area above the White River where the dome continues to build. Dust levels are low in the central and northern zones.
COMPUTERS FOR MSS:
In a recent issue of Montserrat Today, due to a typographical error it was stated that £45,000 was being made available for computer purchase at the Montserrat Secondary School (MSS).
The figure is in fact £25,000 and was announced during the Foreign Secretary's recent visit to Montserrat. The Governor's Office has announced the following in relation to the number of computers to be supplied:
"The use of the figure 10 in relation to the gift of £25,000 for computer equipment for MSS, announced by the Foreign Secretary when he visited Montserrat on Feb 14th was unfortunately misleading. It was only intended to be a rough guide to what might be purchased with the money. £25,000 is being made available to the school and, provided it is spent on computer equipment, they are free to purchase what they wish. The School is of course best placed to decide what equipment it requires. If they are able to purchase more than 10 computers with the money or 10 computers and other equipment they might need then all well and good. The equipment does not have to be British".
FAULT CAUSES POWER CUT:
Most of the northern and central zones of Montserrat were without power yesterday when a fault occurred on the high voltage lines close to the power station at Brades.
MONLEC staff traced and isolated the fault and then repaired it. Most homes and businesses were without power for about three hours.
WATER IMPROVEMENT IN THE NORTH:
The water storage and distribution project in the north of the island continues. The plans call for a 700,000 gallon storage capacity in the north with increased water main pipe sizes.
The equipment has been ordered and some of it already shipped and shortly a water engineer will arrive on island to manage the project.
ECLIPSE TODAY:
This afternoon (Thursday) is a public half holiday in Montserrat for the full eclipse of the sun.
The full eclipse will be observed at about 2.30 pm local time and has attracted quite a few visitors to the island. Health authorities have issued safety instructions on how to view the eclipse and the Montserrat Tourist Board has issued free of charge some 3000 pairs of special goggles to view the eclipse with.
More information tomorrow...................................