UN seeks $29M for St. Vincent amid new volcanic threats

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The United Nations announced Tuesday that it is seeking $29.2 million to help St. Vincent recover from ongoing volcanic eruptions that have destroyed homes and crops, contaminated water supplies and displaced up to 20% of people on the eastern Caribbean island.

Didier Trebucq, the U.N. resident coordinator for Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, described the scene as “apocalyptic” during an online press conference in St. Vincent.

“The devastating impact of this event on thousands of people is undeniable,” he said, adding that more money will be needed once damage assessments are completed.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said officials are still quantifying the damage, but that rebuilding will run “in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” on top of “massive” humanitarian relief needs.

More than 16,000 people were evacuated ahead of the first, April 9 explosion at La Soufriere volcano, with officials noting that ash is piled up to 16 inches (42 centimeters) high in some homes in the northern part of St. Vincent, where the volcano is located.

More than 6,200 evacuees are staying in 88 government shelters and thousands of others in homes or private shelters.

Food, water and ash removal remain high priorities as neighboring nations and organizations pour supplies and funding into St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an island chain of more than 100,000 people, the majority of whom live on the main island of St. Vincent.

So far, U.N. agencies have set aside $2 million for water, hygiene and food vouchers and will send experts to help with the ash cleanup, while nations including Guyana, Dominica and Trinidad & Tobago have pledged funding and shipped basic supplies.

Gonsalves said feeding up to 12,000 people is an...