Every year, hundreds of people make the climb to look at the great wonder of the La Soufriere volcano, oblivious to its historical past. It is a beauty to behold when you first set eyes on it but it so easy to forget how devastating this sleeping giant can be when it awakes.
My first visit to see the volcano was in 1968. I was in the boys scot at the time and we went camping in Chateaubelair for One week. Godfrey Thom was the scot master at the time. Other members that I can remember were Arnaville, Gideon Charles and Kelson Mcbarnet, (Ilay). At the end of the camp we had to walk back from Chateaubelair to Georgetown, which meant that we had to go pass Richmond and Wallibou then trek inland towards La Soufriere then on to Georgetown. That was a real exciting experience. My second visit was in 1973, at that time the crater was full of water, like a big swimming pool. People would sometimes have a swim in the water. My last and most exciting trek to Soufriere was in 2008 when I actually climbed into the dry volcano. All the water had evaporated by then leaving a mountain of toasted rubble.
The only undisputed piece of evidence that you could produce to prove that you had actually been to the top of the volcano was the Soufriere grass/ fern. This plant only grew near the volcano and come Easter time many visitors returning from the hills would wave their Soufriere grass as if to say "Look at me, me bin ah Soufriere".
You really have to experience the feeling of looking into the huge dome for yourself, it is something that you will never forget. The climb up to the volcano is not as daunting as it was Twenty years ago. Improvements have been made to the foot paths and some facilities are at the Dry River Bed for those who do not fancy the climb. My only advise to anyone who is going to the top is to carry plenty of liquids and a spare T shirt. Take your time, its easy to get excited and race up the hill, if you do you can easily get out of breath then you will struggle to get to the top. If you do make it to the top stay well away from the edge of the crater it can be quite breezy at times and fog can appear at anytime.
This recollection of visiting Soufrierewas submitted by Patricia Brown
"I made my first trip when I was about 10 years old. Boy I was sooooo tired that night. After that first time, I made the trip every year. I remember folks you didn't even know would be eating their picnic lunch at the river bed, and even if they didn't know you, we would all be like one family, folks would be sharing their lunch and just enjoying the time there. Then we would start our journey up the hill.
On our way down, we would always make sure we had pieces of what we called "sufray grass" with us, that told every one back in G/town that you actually went up the hill, because that was the only area where that grass grew. Of course we never said the word correctly, we never called it La Soufriere, it was always "sufray" remember?
The 1979 Eruption and its Effect on the People
The first historical eruption of the volcano took place in March 1718, and the 1812 eruption produced major explosions. Nearly a century went by before the next eruption, a hugely destructive event that began in earnest on 7th May 1902. Much of the northern end of the island was devastated by this major eruption and approximately1680 lives were lost.
After 1903, St Vincent returned to a state of quiescence which wasn’t disturbed until 1971, when a remarkably quiet eruption built a new lava dome within the flooded crater of the volcano. The lake was then largely ejected during a series of explosive eruptions in 1979 and the dome was replaced with another.
The 1979 eruption began with only a very short period of unrest, starting with a strong local earthquake on April 12. Eruptive activity began with a series of short-lived but violent explosions and that lofted a series of ash plumes, high into the sky on Good Friday, April 13, 1979. This heralded two weeks of vigorous activity that peaked with an 18 km high plume on April 17, and ended, with the cessation of measurable seismicity on April 29. After this, the eruption switched to the quiet extrusion of lava, slowly forming the dome that still sits in the crater today.
The 1979 eruption caused much disruption, with 20,000 people evacuated to shelters.
At dawn on the 13th of April 1979 the Soufriere Volcano in northern St. Vincent erupted. Six hours earlier the Government of St. Vincent had been warned that a highly abnormal situation existed and that an eruption was likely in the coming hours. Evacuation of the areas north of the Rabacca and Wallibou rivers started almost at the same time as the first eruption and was completed within 12 hours. Later Chateaubelair and Georgetown also had to be evacuated. A total of around 15,000-20,000 people (more than 15% of the total population) were relocated to the already densely populated south.
The first eruptions were so powerful that it caused ash to fall on Barbados, 180 km to the east, on the afternoons of 13 and April. The volcano remained active into early June. At each eruption the mushrooming clouds reached up to 8,000 feet, and were readily visible from Kingstown. Each explosion was followed by the deposition of a thin layer of ash over the entire island, heavier in the northern part. Ash would fall for several hours, resembling light snow. It was irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes. No direct mortality was attributed to these eruptions, but a rumor about deaths due to traffic accidents associated with the evacuation could never be substantiated or dismissed on firm grounds. Several patients with fractures suffered during these accidents were hospitalized.
Evacuation Centres
The number of evacuation centres reached fifty-seven during the first few days and Increased later to sixty-three. The total population in the centres was estimated to be 15,000 with 3,000 more displaced persons living in private homes. Evacuation centers were started in schools, churches and government buildings. These were not built to serve as evacuation centers and did not have adequate facilities. At the beginning of the disaster relief effort two epidemiologists from the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) made a quick survey of some of these centers to identify major problems that needed to be solved. 
Sanitation problems were noted in most of the centres. Close to a thousand refugees were living in one centre. Water was available but through a limited number of outlets, and facilities to boil water, if necessary, scarcely existed. Insufficient or unusable toilets and/or pit latrines resulted in uncontrolled defecation in the immediate vicinity of the center. Personal hygiene and garbage disposal also caused problems mainly because of lack of facilities. For food preparation widespread use was made of volunteer personnel unaccustomed and unprepared for mass catering. Everyone was therefore very much afraid of outbreaks in these evacuation centres. Fifty-three percent of the population in the centres was younger than fifteen and one fifth of these was under two.
One of the evacuation centres was Richmond School pictured above..
The volcano eruption in1979 is still fresh in many of our minds, as if it was yesterday according to some of you. It was unexpected and caught many by surprise. I posted a photo of a lone vehicle with Three masked persons traveling though the ash covered road in Georgetown, and asked for your recollection of that awful day. I was blown away by the responses and interactions. So far, almost Eight and a half Thousand (8,424) persons have viewed this post since it was posted on the Georgetownsvgrevisted, Facebook page Four days ago. It has been shared 64 times and over Fifty of you shared your stories of that awful day.
