Foster and Patrica

There was a fascinating article in the Royal Gazette (25th April 2021)  about our good friend and colleague Foster Burke was is presently stranded in St. Vincent together with his wife Patrica, as a result of La Soufriere volcano erupting and spreading ash all across the Island.  Foster described in detail the present situation in St. Vincent which continues to prevent him and Patricia from returning to Bermuda.

The article contains several excellent photos of Foster and his family, and also of the eruption.

Here is part of the Royal Gazette interview with Foster:-

Volcanic ash coats Foster Burke’s backyard in St Vincent & the Grenadines. It covers his roof, his trees, his grass and his car and it's been constant, since the first eruption from La Soufriere on April 9.

“Every time the wind blows, it blows everywhere," Mr Burke said. “The ash gets on the porch and in the house."

To keep it outside he has to keep his windows closed as the ash is so fine it comes straight through the screens. He also has to be careful about turning on the air conditioning, as it can suck ash in with the air.

St Vincent-born, Mr Burke worked in Bermuda for most of his adult life — first as a police officer and then in security. Now retired, he and his wife Patricia split their time between the two islands.

He has been in St Andrew, a parish in the southern Caribbean nation, since February. Emergency officials have said the 133-square-mile island resembles “a battle zone". More than 20,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.

“I really didn’t realise it would be this bad,” said Mr Burke, explaining that there were signs of what was coming back in December.

 “It is not a sudden thing. It was known it would erupt. From that point of view no one was caught off guard. There were rumblings, earthquakes and sulphur; there was hot magma coming up, burning up the vegetation around the rim of the crater."

His plans to return to Bermuda were cancelled by ash on the runway of Argyle International Airport, in nearby Kingstown.

"The volcano had other plans," he said. “I have had two attempts in the last week. Both were scrubbed because the airport wasn't open."

By Saturday, when the airport was clean and ready for traffic, he was unable to travel. Too much time had passed since his Covid-19 test; a new one wouldn't have given him the results fast enough.

Despite that he is in a better position than many on the island. The government has divided St Vincent into four zones — Red, Orange, Yellow and Green, with Red being the most dangerous.

Mr Burke's home is in the Green Zone, 15 miles south of the eruption. He has not felt the ground move but has heard a constant rumble, similar to distant thunder.

“The closer you were to it, the louder it sounded," he said. “To people very near it would have sounded like explosive thunder. “ (Continued .....)

CLICK HERE  for the rest of the interview in the Royal Gazette.

EDITORS NOTE -  I've been trying to contact Foster through several emails addresses we had in our files,  but have had no success so far. If anyone has any up-to-date contact details for Foster could you please forward them to me, or have Foster contact me  at info@expobermuda.com