The University of the West Indies (UWI), Seismic Research Centre, has recently accessed financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) under the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Fund towards the implementation of the Volcano-Ready Community Project in Saint Vincent and The Grenadines.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is among the most disaster-prone territories in the world, and is affected on a regular basis by the negative impacts of natural hazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, rainfall events, storm surge and drought.

The Volcano Ready Community Project will seek to prepare and equip 12 vulnerable communities in northern Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to effectively respond to an eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano in a manner that will minimise the number of associated fatalities and injuries. 

The Project will seek to provide the scientific information, resources and necessary downscaling to support individual and community-level volcano contingency planning, community-led multi-hazard mapping, and capacity-building for disaster risk reduction. 

The Project will also seek to fully utilise and leverage recent research outputs and products from the recently completed STREVA project that has provided invaluable insights into community needs, and the recently updated National Volcanic Emergency Plan (NVEP). Vulnerability to the multi-hazard environment of the La Soufriere Volcano will also seek to be reduced by a combination of activities designed to enhance community early warning procedures, increase adaptive capacities, strengthen awareness and enhance response capacities.