Above: the Soufriere Volcano

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Investment should continue and increase in Montserrat, despite the Soufriere Volcano, Governor Adrian Davis said yesterday in a statement.

Davis was commenting on a Scientific Advisory Committee report from December showing that the probability of a new lava extrusion or magmatic explosion in 2012 was 70 percent.

“The SAC report is not a reason for potential investors to be put off investing in Montserrat,” he said. “On the country, investment should continue and increase. The SAC report is a clear demonstration that the volcano and its risks are being proactively managed.”

The governor said that the 70 percent probability represented a wide range of potential incidents, from a major pyroclastic flow to a very minor extrusion.

Davis pointed to the island’s north side, which he said was “virtually entirely safe from any conceivable volcanic activity, apart from the potential inconvenience of ash fall.”