Montserrat Island

The Emerald Island of Montserrat suffered terrible bad luck in having a volcano that had not signaled any form of life until 1995. Steam, heat and tremors commenced, and the authorities began taking steps to protect life on the island. But the progression into violence by the volcano did not take long, and eventually the capital, Plymouth, was evacuated. Some time later, due to a very severe storm, the refugees were allowed to return. But on Christmas day of 1997, the volcano, which had grown spectacularly, simply fell apart in a violent eruption of steam, rocks, and ashes, at a very high temperature (600 degrees C), and started its mad race downhill, in the form of a pyroclastic flow. It covered the city, destroying all the flammable materials, and covered the island with incredible amounts of ashes, which collapsed many roofs and caused a large series of accidents. Although the airport was rapidly destroyed, life kept its pace, slower, but firm, with the help of many peoples of the world. Today the country has not recovered, as so many buildings, including hospitals, schools and government offices were destroyed. But the people have moved away from all the areas that are still dangerous, as the volcano is quite alive, steaming and producing small pyroclastic flows every so many months. Steam is always visible!