22 March, 2007 - Published 11:46 GMT

Volcano evacuation being resisted

Residents in an area of north-west Monserrat thought to be under threat from an active volcano are resisting safety measures being applied by the authorities.

They say they are opposed to their daily lives being disrupted unnecessarily.

The island's government fears a major eruption from the Soufriere Hills Volcano could badly affect the Salem area and its residents.

But residents say the authorities describe this as just a possibility, and some in that community say they now have difficulty relying on the information provided by the scientists monitoring the volcano's seismic activity.

"The community as a whole has lost confidence in the scientific advisory committee, because of the uncertainties they use, that influence the government to evacuate people," Dwayne Lovett, the president of the Montserrat Property Owners Association, told BBC Caribbean.

Accommodation concerns

A former chief minister, Reuben Meade, an opposition MP who lives in Salem, said while people understood the need to take action, they had concerns.

"We are not saying that we are unwilling to move, (but) you can't ask people who are unemployed, mothers with children to just move into a shelter, not knowing where their next meal is coming from," Mr Meade said.

Salem is just outside the exclusion zone for the volcano.

An official evacuation order for that area could mean more than eight hundred people having to be moved out.

Montserratian authorities worried about the ever-growing dome of the volcano and the impact of a major eruption, say they are reviewing the situation and will take necessary precautions.