Lahars

Volcanoes like Soufrière Hills produce lots of volcanic ash when they erupt. That’s why the summits of many volcanoes are covered by a thick layer of ash. Rainfall can remobilise this ash to form so-called mudflows or lahars. This are mixtures of water, ash and other volcanic debris, running down the volcanoes following river channels and destroying everything in their path.

Caption: A lahar in the Belham Valley in 2004. The vehicle was eventually swept away. Credit: MVO Archive. Location: Belham Valley. Date: 9/11/2004

Lahars can occur years after volcanoes stopped erupting, making them an especially dangerous hazard. In Montserrat, heavy rainfall is common, and so are lahars. The video below shows a lahar in Belham Valley in 2016.

5. Volcano island

May 2006 Dome Collapse And Lahars

2000 +

The Volcano & Belham

View >

1. Watching the Volcano

Everybody Monitors The Volcano

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000 +

The Island Today

The Volcano & Belham

View >

1. Watching the Volcano

Agents of Change

1997

1998

1999

2000 +

East

The Volcano & Belham

West (Plymouth)

View >

1. Watching the Volcano

Surface Activity View >

6. Before and after

Trants (Eastern Montserrat)

18th & 19th Century

The Island Today

East

View >

6. Before and after

The Old Airport

1997

1998

1999

2000 +

East

View >

6. Before and after

Belham Valley

1995

2000 +

The Island Today

The Volcano & Belham

View >