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Montserrat’s Unexpected Life

Kat Haynes

It has been over 10 years since I completed my PhD on the volcanically active Caribbean island of Montserrat. My research examined the transfer of information between scientists, politicians and members of the public, identifying the complexity of risk communication due to psychological, social, economic, cultural and political factors. Importantly, the research found that while volcanic knowledge and awareness was necessary, it was not a significant factor influencing risk-reducing behaviour. Instead, it highlighted the importance of participatory communication and development processes that identify and reduce underlying vulnerabilities.

Links to my papers:

Haynes, K., Barclay, J. and Pidgeon, N.F. (2008). The issue of trust and its influence on risk communication during a volcanic crisis. Bulletin of Volcanology 70, (5) 605–621 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00445-007-0156-z#page-1

Haynes, K. , Barclay, J. and Pidgeon, N.F. (2008). Whose reality counts? Factors affecting the perception of volcanic risk. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 172, (3-4) 259-272. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027307004180

Haynes, K. , Barclay, J. and Pidgeon, N.F. (2007). An evaluation of volcanic hazard maps as a communication tool on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat. Bulletin of Volcanology 70, (2) 123-138. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00445-007-0124-7#page-1

The volcano, which began erupting in 1997 and led to the destruction of the capital, has been quiet since 2010. I often think of the island and its people and how life is progressing. I was very pleased to see the below photo article published in the New York Times Magazine on Feburay 5, 2016. The photos are beautiful, with the most striking images depicting how nature is reclaiming the lost city of Plymouth – often aptly named a modern day Pompeii. I now just have to convince my boss of the need for a follow up study! The article is reproduced below.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/04/magazine/07mag-voyages-montserrat.html?_r=1

Montserrat’s Unexpected Life Andrew Moore

Though its capital was levelled by a volcano and more than half of the island is now in the “exclusion zone,” this British territory remains home to a vibrant community. PHOTOGRAPHER: Andrew Moore | HOME: New York | DESTINATION: Montserrat TRIP DURATION: Nine Days

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ABOUT MONTSERRAT: Montserrat, an 11-mile-long island in the Lesser Antilles, had 10,000 inhabitants before the eruption; the population is now around 5,000. The island has been looking at ways to use the exclusion zone to its advantage. Sand mining has started there, and tourists have begun visiting the ruins of Plymouth.

A view of Plymouth and Amersham. The Soufrière Hills volcano is in the background. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

Several years ago, a close friend of mine, the photographer Allan Macintyre, went with a group of scientists to explore Montserrat’s former capital, Plymouth. I was struck by his black-and-white pictures of half-buried buildings. He told me there wasn’t a lot of color there because everything is covered in volcanic ash. But I really wanted to see for myself what a submerged town looked like. And also, I wanted to see how nature had filled the void.

To get around, I enlisted the help of a man named James Daley, who goes by Scriber and is a tracker for the exclusion zone. A mature jungle is quite easy to walk through, but new undergrowth is very, very dense. Daley had to cut a path with a machete in places where there had been roads. There were also Jack Spaniard wasps, which are very aggressive and nasty, living under the leaves. Daley had to look out for them and spray them; he was stung, and my assistant was as well. We went to a village in the hills above Plymouth that had also been completely abandoned; it took us about an hour to go one mile.

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I shot some pictures from a helicopter, which offered extraordinary views, because you can see Plymouth and the volcano in the background. But on foot, you could actually see houseplants that had grown 20 feet tall and shot up through a roof.

The director of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Roderick Stewart, is a volcanologist and a keen photographer himself. He was impressed that I was shooting with a four-by-five, a large-format camera. He took me along on a trip to one of the M.V.O. monitoring stations, at Roche’s Yard, as well as to Amersham, outside Plymouth, an area that is not yet open to tourists and to which he hadn’t been since 1997. I actually want to go back to Montserrat soon because I think that this island is going to become more and more of a destination.

A Pentecostal church in Plymouth. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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A residence in Plymouth, covered in ash. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

Government House, formerly the official residence of Montserrat’s governor. Britain colonized the island in 1632. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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The Soca Cabana club in Little Bay. The wooden bar inside the club was rescued from AIR Studios, an offshoot of Sir George Martin’s legendary London recording studio, after it was damaged by a hurricane. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

Tryouts for ‘‘Montserrat Idol’’ at the Soca Cabana club. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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Cudjoe Head corner, named after a slave who fled his master but was subsequently caught and beheaded. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

A Montserrat Volcano Observatory monitoring station at Roche’s Yard. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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Ruins in Windy Hill, inside the exclusion zone. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

An abandoned apartment in Plymouth. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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Molyneux, part of the now densely overgrown exclusion zone. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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A sand and gravel operation in Belham Valley; the island is hoping to strengthen its economy by exporting sand. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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Volcanic deposits near Bethel Estate, in the exclusion zone. Credit Andrew Moore for the New York Times

James Daley, known as Scriber, a tracker for the exclusion zone. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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View from the Gingerbread Hill guesthouse. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

Cork Hill, a residential area outside Plymouth that was abandoned after the volcano began erupting. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times

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Fort Ghaut, inside the exclusion zone, with the Soufrière Hills volcano in the distance. Credit Andrew Moore for The New York Times