A request has been made by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for a loan of over EC $40 million to provide assistance to those with houses that have been negatively impacted by the explosive eruptions of La Soufriere.
This is according to Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who was at the time speaking on radio.
The Prime Minister noted that there are many that would not have seen immediate damage caused by the eruption, there are many that have seen harsh effects take their toll over time.
“I’ve sent off a request to a particular funding institution for 42/43 million dollars EC, for a loan, twenty years at two percent money, I am optimistic of getting it for housing, because, as time goes by, the number of houses affected by Soufriere, that number is increasing. The assessment—you don’t see the full impact as the months go by—might not start leaking—and you say well Soufriere didn’t affect you badly, but the wear and tear was accelerated because of Soufriere and other weather conditions make the numbers increase,” the Prime Minister said.
After 40 years of low activity, La Soufriere, St. Vincent, began to erupt effusively in December 2020, eventually culminating in an explosive event that started on April 9, 2021, and led to the evacuation of at least 20,000 people.