The volcano caused many problems; the tourist industry was ruined, as well as hotels. The airport was completely destroyed as it was in the path of the main pyroclastic flow. When mudflows and pyroclastic flow kept occurring regularly, the capital city has to be evacuated, weeks later it covered the whole city. People have to live in halls and churches and had to be evacuated to other places like Britain. The British government sent £17 million to help the people of Montserrat, the USA also helped by sending their troops for evacuation.
Methodist Pastor Joan Meade describes what is left of one of her parishes.
"My largest congregation was in Bethal," she told the BBC's Science in Action programme. "There are no dwelling houses or schools in the area anymore, so it wouldn't be a question of people returning home."
The volcano can likely erupt any time, so scientists are trying to predict when the next eruption is likely to happen, they are also trying to stimulate the path which pyroclastic flows are likely to take. In 2005, the island was still out of bounds, the latest eruption occurred in January 2009.
The volcano erupted because Northern and Southern American Plate were subducted under the Caribbean plate; the volcano was on top of the plate tectonics which began to shift violently. The volcano’s crater produced a phreatic explosion, which is caused when the pressure in the ground rapidly increases, this is where the molten rock heats the ground water, and the water is then turned into steam, and because of this the volcano exploded, causing fumes and ash clouds.
The volcano also released poisonous gases such as sulphur dioxide, these cause breathing difficulty, and also contributes to acid rain. Animals and plants also died in the event, although there are many disadvantages, there are also advantages, which include the heat produced can be used for electricity in an environmentally way, when the lava cools, the soil becomes fertile. Minerals are also found such as borax. Tourist may come back to Montserrat; the volcano itself might become a tourist attraction. However scientists are still monitoring the volcano, their advice is passed onto the government of Montserrat.
