Christie Carr
The islands of the Eastern Caribbean, commonly referred to as the Lesser Antilles, form a volcanic island arc, where, at present, there are 21 known "live" (likely to erupt again) volcanoes scattered across the 11 volcanically active islands.
Since 1953, the UWI Seismic Research Centre (UWI SRC) has been the authoritative source for information on the status of earthquakes and volcanic activity in the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.
However, the region was affected by these natural hazards long before there was any type of established organisation.
So how have Caribbean societies coped with these phenomena?
Curating Crises is a recent collaborative project between the UWI SRC and the University of East Anglia, Oxford University, the Royal Society, and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.
Launched in 2022, the project aims to explore the impacts of UK colonial influences on the creation and sharing of geological knowledge in response to volcanic and seismic crises in the Eastern Caribbean.
This initiative has allowed researchers to gain a better understanding of historical volcanic activity by considering who got heard, who gathered data and whose analysis was remembered before the SRC was set up. Examples are drawn from archived correspondence, personal accounts from witnesses of volcanic disasters and unearthing unrecognised voices.
Records of volcanic phenomena have been reported and archived by the Royal Society since the 1600s. During British colonial rule, the society, based in the UK, took responsibility for reporting and responding to volcanic and seismic crises.
It spearheaded scientific expeditions whose primary aim was to carry out practical and philosophical investigations of the natural world.
If ever there was any unrest surrounding a volcano, the authorities at the time would request an investigation through the colonial offices.
It was not until the volcanic disasters of 1902 in the Lesser Antilles that these expeditions became more urgent.
In May of 1902 the islands of St Vincent, home to La Soufrière Volcano, and Martinique, home to Mount Pelée, each experienced a deadly eruption lasting several days. The capital of Martinique, St Pierre, and the northern areas of St Vincent were devastated, including many estates on the islands.
Her research involved working closely with the Curating Crises archives.
Photo courtesy GSTT -
Combined fatalities amounted to over 31,000, with overwhelming damage to the economies. Personal accounts from the archives of a Capt Freeman describe his escape onboard the ship Roddam from the St Pierre harbour.
He recounted, "A whirlwind of steam, boiling hot mud and fire immediately followed and instantly the whole town was in flames while ships were dismasted and burned."
His accounts also describe a visit to a hospital in St Vincent, where he saw firsthand the gruesome effects of the eruptions. On speaking to burn victims, they recalled not being able to breathe because of the hot ash, explaining that their burns came from the hot cinders.
According to a 1902 issue of a British newspaper, The Graphic, Capt Freeman was the only captain able to steer his ship out of the harbour during the eruption, but not without sustaining major burns and injuries.
After this, the entire region would soon become anxious and fearful for years to come at the risk of similar events occurring on the islands.
For instance, during the mid-1930s, seismic (earthquake) activity in Montserrat was on the rise and sulphurous fumes from the Soufrière Hills volcano were cause for concern. The inhabitants of the island petitioned the governor for an investigation of the activity. Consequently, in 1936 a group of British vulcanologists and physicists arrived to assess the situation. Similarly, in 1946 a geological investigation was done in St Vincent after increased earthquakes were felt in the north of the island. There were also reports of rumbling sounds from the volcano, which triggered many to abandon their homes, returning only once a week to tend to their land. The governor at the time reported the matter through the Colonial Office, which led the British Union Oil Company in Barbados to send its geologist to investigate. Requesting a visit from an oil company’s geologist on a neighbouring island might appear easier than requesting a visit from the British, but these geologists were not as familiar with the study of volcanology.
For the Royal Society, these expeditions lasted many months and were no easy task. With the assistance of local guides and a couple of donkeys, scientists would make their way through dense forest, climbing to the highest peaks to do surveys and take gas measurements, observations and water samples.
After these expeditions, reports were submitted, always with the recommendation for routine local observations and installing instruments to record earthquake and volcanic phenomena.
In the 1950s yet another investigation was undertaken, this time in the islands of St Kitts and Nevis, led by a young researcher named Dr Patrick Wilmore, of the University of Cambridge, who would eventually lead the establishment of a regional agency. In 1953, the Volcanological Research Department was established and has now evolved into the UWI Seismic Research Centre.
Since then, the UWI SRC continues to make significant contributions to disaster risk reduction efforts in our region, by effectively researching and educating stakeholders about living with volcanoes.
Christie Carr has a BSc in petroleum geoscience and is currently doing her MPhil in geoscience at UWI.
This article was submitted by the Geological Society of TT.