After forty years of dormancy, La Soufrière has erupted. Tens of thousands of nearby residents are in the process of evacuating.

The volcano sits on the the largest island of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines chain in the Caribbean. Officials have been monitoring it closely since December, when it began showing signs of increased activity. Yesterday, small tremors were detected (watch above).

On Friday morning, La Soufrière advanced to an “explosive state,” according to the National Emergency Management Organization. Clouds of ash and smoke spread for miles. Emergency management officials said the ash column reached 20,000 feet high. “More explosions could occur,” said Erouscilla Joseph, director of the University of the West Indies Seismic Center.

The country’s prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, ordered an evacuation on Thursday, saying “I want to urge all our people to be calm — do not panic…With God’s grace we will get through this very well.”

NPR reports, “Crowds of masked people were captured on cellphone video on Thursday carrying backpacks and plastic bags containing what appear to be some of their belongings. Lines of cars were seen crowding a narrow road out of the danger area.”

There are no reports of casualties. About 16,000 people live in the area most affected and the archipelago nation has a population of 110,000.

20,000 residents have already been relocated, according to The New York Times, but the process is complicated by Covid-19 restrictions. Neighboring island nations plan to accept only those refugees that have been vaccinated. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises have sent ships to house the displaced, but they too must be vaccinated, according to Gonsalves.

La Soufrière has erupted just five times in the last 300 years –  1718, 1812, 1814, 1902/03 and 1979.