Current Hazard Level

The Hazard Level is 1. There is no public access to Zone V, including Plymouth. Maritime Zones East and West are daytime transit only between sunrise and sunset (boats may sail through the zone but must not stop). Anyone who ignores these restrictions is liable to be prosecuted.

Pyroclastic flows can occur at any time without warning on any side of the volcano, including Gages from where they can travel rapidly into Plymouth. Tracks across the Belham Valley can be destroyed or heavily modified by flash flooding or lahars, and caution should be exercised crossing the valley during and after rainfall.

Hazard Management

The Soufrière Hills Volcano sprang back to life in 1995 after about 400 years of dormancy. Since then it has gone through several phases of activity rendering nearly two thirds of the Island of Montserrat uninhabitable. The Soufrière Hills Volcano presents a number of hazards to both the local population and to tourists.

The Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) monitors the volcano. MVO is staffed by a team of scientists and technicians who provide timely advice on the state of the volcano and its hazards to the Disaster Management Coordination Agency (DMCA).

The DMCA then manages the hazards posed by the volcano, and instructs the other government services on evacuations and access to the unsafe zone.

The Government of Montserrat, the Disaster Management Coordinating Agency (DMCA) and the MVO have adopted a Hazard Level System which has been used at the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat since August 1, 2008. The purpose of the system is to improve management of the ongoing eruption and to provide important information to the residents of Montserrat.

Leaflets and posters explaining the Hazard Level System are available from the offices of the DMCA, MVO, airport and many other locations in Montserrat.