By Anthony Prassoulis, Information & Advocacy Unit, OCHA ROLAC
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in early April has brought a new wave of humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental repercussions crashing down on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, stretching national response capacities and threatening to set back development by decades.
Preliminary assessments estimate that the eruption could cost the country the equivalent of 50 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), with losses in agriculture and housing combined with damages to infrastructure projected to be about US$300 million. In the areas closest to La Soufrière, all vegetable crops have been completely decimated, while 90 per cent of tree crops and 80 per cent of root crops have been lost, which will surely have a lasting impact on livelihoods and food security.