| The VUELCO short course was held in Dominica where the team and delegates of the course were able to examine geology on the field trips as well as learn from lectures and take part in a simulated unrest exercise at the Office of Disaster Management on the island. The island of Dominica is located within the Lesser Antilles Island Arc and has 9 volcanic centres, which are considered to have the potential to erupt in the future. Dominica is largely comprised of volcanic rocks and their weathering products. There is historic volcanic activity on the island which continues to the present day. The island has had frequent swarms of volcanic earthquakes since the 1700s but has only had two eruptions. The simulation exercise was designed to test the effectiveness of a number of tools and products derived from the VUELCO project during its final year. It also tested various aspects of the Dominica Volcanic Emergency Plan, which was updated in 2014 through funds provided by DIPECHO in a project administered by the French Red Cross (Watts, 2015). Finally, it was also used to test aspects of the CARICOM Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) and the SRC’s emergency protocols for the management of volcanic emergencies. The CDEMA Coordinating Unit (CDEMA-CU) in Barbados was also involved. The following images were taken during the field trips and simulation exercise. |