Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano unleashes small pyroclastic flow

March 14, 2012 – MONTSERRAT – A small pyroclastic flow occurred from Montserrat’s Soufrière Hills volcano on 9 March, MVO reports. The flow was small, but happened with no warning at around 5:20 pm (local time) from the western flanks of Soufriere Hills Volcano down into Spring Ghaut. The pyroclastic flow traveled about 1 km to the west towards Plymouth before its ash dissipated to form a small ash cloud rising 1.3 km and drifting towards St. Georges Hill and out to sea. MVO has published further details and photographs of this event which is significant as it occurred during a quiet phase of the volcano with no current active lava dome growth and illustrates the hazard of sudden pyroclastic flows. “There were no precursors to this event. Although activity has generally been low, this event clearly illustrates that Soufrière Hills Volcano is still an active volcano and that pyroclastic flows can occur at any time with little to no warning.” –Volcano Discovery