Anjalie Ramgoolam and her family went to get supplies at Massy Stores in Kingstown but returned home empty handed.
“The groceries are practically empty now. They packed out stuff on Friday and today (Saturday) there is nothing, Barbados sent some relief items so we may get stuff from that. Honestly, we weren’t able to get anything today,” Ramgoolam told Guardian Media.
She and her parents live 21 kilometres from the La Soufriere volcano but even at that distance they are feeling the effects.
“I’m living in Queen’s Drive. Outside you cannot see anything, there’s so much ash and it’s so cloudy, you cannot go outside right now, and we’ve been advised to stay in the house.”
Ramgoolam, 26, said despite Government’s warning there surprisingly was still a lot of activity on the island despite the ash.
“It’s almost as if it is a normal day if you think about it.”
But while older citizens of St Vincent and the Grenadines may have seen this before when the same volcano erupted in 1979, for the Ramgoolams, these aren’t normal days.
“It’s frightening and I was asking my parents when next we will get a breath of fresh air, it’s amazing and scary.”
Ramgoolam said she would like to return to Trinidad and Tobago and so would a few other T&T nationals on the island.
However, the Argyle International Airport is also affected by the ash.
Dr Amery Browne, the Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs said the Ministry of National Security said all efforts were being made to accommodate national who required evacuation. He said that fortunately there had been no incidents of T&T nationals being harmed during the volcano’s eruption and he thanked the Government there for how it was handling the situation.
Browne said he was monitoring the situation daily and the information gathered would be factored into this country’s relief efforts.
“For example, the Vincentians are indicating that their ground water supply is likely to be challenged due to quantities of ash and dust affecting their existing water catchment areas. The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force has been made aware and has incorporated these types of inputs into their mobilisation procedures,” he said.