Water shortage in St Vincent after volcano erupts

The La Soufriere volcano in Saint Vincent is expected to keep erupting for days or even weeks, with shelters in the capital city of Kingstown beginning to feel the strain.

More than 4,000 people have sought safety in 89 government shelters. Meanwhile, the government so far has registered more than 6,000 evacuees in private homes, a number that keeps growing.

Heavy ashfall has clogged the island's water and sewer systems, which has left entire communities without water services since Saturday.

Authorities have expressed worry about an uptick in coronavirus cases in certain areas given dwindling water supplies or the complete lack of water.

In addition, around a dozen COVID-19 cases have been reported in recent days, with at least five evacuees staying in two homes and one shelter testing positive, exposing at least 20 people to the virus, according to St. Vincent's chief medical officer.

Officials are preparing to do testing as part of contact tracing, a complicated undertaking due to between 16,000 to 20,000 people were evacuated before La Soufriere erupted on Friday.

Meanwhile, supplies were non-existent or running low at some government shelters.

In Kingstown some evacuees are sleeping on the floor at a some of the shelters.

Neighboring islands and organizations have shipped water to St. Vincent, where officials have distributed water bottles and dispatched water trucks.