How the island went from A-List hotspot to ‘Pompeii of the Caribbean’ in minutes – and the massive exclusion zone in effect today

World

AN ISLAND once known as an A-list hotspot turned into the “Pompeii of the Caribbean” within minutes of a devastating explosion.

Montserrat is only about ten miles long and seven miles wide, but a huge exclusion zone has separated most of the island for the past fourteen years.

The Caribbean island of Montserrat offered stunning beauty before a series of eruptions from the Soufriere Hills volcano between 1995 and 1999Credit: Getty

The explosions destroyed the capital Plymouth and several other villages, now known as the Restriction ZoneCredit: Reuters

All that remains are gutted buildings in downtown Plymouth, while debris from a pyroclastic flow envelops the southern half of the islandCredit: Reuters

The small British Overseas Territory is one of a number of small Caribbean islands

Nicknamed ‘The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean’, this British Overseas Territory is one of the most dangerous places in the world. the Caribbean.

That’s because the south of the island is home to an active, complex stratovolcano known as Soufrière Hills.

With many lava domes forming the top, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since.

As a result, more than half of Montserrat is considered uninhabitable and about two-thirds of the population has been forced to flee.

Pyroclastic flows and ashfalls were sent across much of southern Montserrat before a second explosion covered the city in a thick layer of ash and almost completely darkened the sky.

The capital Plymouth was destroyed and is currently covered in a mountain of ash and dust.

As widespread evacuations took place over a number of years, Plymouth became abandoned, forgotten and completely abandoned.

People tried to return years later, but on June 25, 1997, a massive eruption killed nineteen people as the resulting pyroclastic flow devastated the island’s water body. airport.

Although completely deserted, Plymouth is still classified as the capital and is therefore the world’s only ghost town capital of any political area.

Large parts of the island remain deserted and resemble something out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare.

Magical British island with empty Caribbean beaches where cars are banned and there are no clocks or TVs

Half of the island is buried in volcanic ash in a volatile but fascinating region called the Exclusion Zone, which restricts travel to the south of the island.

This is why Montserrat is known as the Pompeii of the Caribbean.

Before that first eruption nearly thirty years ago, however, the small island was a hotspot for A-list celebrities.

Located in the Caribbean, Montserrat is naturally blessed with beautiful weather, breathtaking views and ideal seclusion.

In 2015 it was announced that planning would begin for a new town and harbor at Little Bay on the island’s north-west coast, costing £28 million.

In June 2022, ground was finally broken on the project and construction of the island’s new city began.

Elsewhere, a British man died after being electrocuted while carrying out work on a yacht in Antigua.

Roy Temme, 47, was found slumped over and unconscious aboard the Baton Rouge luxury ship moored in a Caribbean port.

And a tourist couple is feared dead after three prisoners escaped their yacht hijacked in the Caribbean.

Sailors Ralph Hendry and his wife Kathy Brandel were last seen Sunday afternoon by a boat neighbor as they headed to a restaurant in Grenada.