THE United Nations is providing assistance to residents of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines after a volcano eruption left the entire population of 110,000 people without clean water and electricity and about 20,000 people homeless, reported Xinhua.

The eruption of La Soufriere on Friday has affected most livelihoods in the northern part of the southern Caribbean island, including banana farming, with ash and lava flows hampering the movement of people and goods, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said yesterday.

While about 20,000 evacuated people are in need of shelter, access to the island is limited as airports and ports are closed, it said.

Answering the government’s appeal, the United Nations is providing relief items, food and cash distribution and technical advice. Neighbouring countries are contributing emergency supplies and assets to support evacuation, said OCHA.

The United Nations and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency have mobilised prepositioned water and sanitation hygiene supplies in the neighbouring island country of Barbados. OCHA is supporting coordination with a dedicated team in Barbados, and virtually from Panama, it said. – Bernama, April 13, 2021.