Ash-Rusted Roofs and Ruined Churches: A Senator Says St Vincent’s Volcano Zone Is Still Waiting to Rebuild

• Opposition Senator Shevern John raised the plight of churches in St Vincent’s volcano red zone
• She said many church buildings were destroyed by ashfall from the 2021 eruption and by Hurricane Elsa
• Some congregations are too small to rebuild on their own
• Residents are still living under roofs rusted by volcanic ash

Nearly three years after La Soufriere erupted, churches and homes in the north of St Vincent were still bearing the damage, an opposition senator told Parliament in January 2024. iWitness News reported on 15 January 2024 that Senator Shevern John of the New Democratic Party, the party’s caretaker for North Windward, used the budget debate to appeal for help for congregations whose buildings were wrecked by the April 2021 eruption and by Hurricane Elsa in July of that year.

John said many church buildings in the volcano red zone were destroyed by the heavy ashfall as well as Hurricane Elsa. Some congregations, she said, had not been able to recover. “Some can’t make it because their congregation is very small,” she told the House. A photograph accompanying the report showed a church in Owia damaged during the eruption.

She asked the minister responsible for national reconciliation to step in. “I’m hoping that the minister could speak on behalf of these churches to the relevant ministries to assist them in their rebuilding process,” she said, adding that she did not know whether the minister had carried out an evaluation or met with the church leaders concerned.

The senator also described the lingering effect on homes. “There are many constituents who still have a lot to contend with in terms of the ash-rusted roofs,” she said, explaining that some residents must still move their babies when strong winds blow because rust falls from the roofs. No monetary figures were given in the report.

The appeal shows how long the tail of a natural disaster can be for rural congregations. Big denominations can draw on diocesan funds, but small, independent churches in remote districts often depend entirely on their own members, who are themselves repairing their houses.

For Jamaica, recovering from Hurricane Melissa, the Vincentian experience is a warning that damaged rural churches can remain unrepaired for years once the emergency phase ends. Congregations should document damage early, register it with parish disaster committees, and ask elected representatives to put it on record, as John did. Diaspora members with links to small home churches in affected districts can make a real difference, because those are exactly the buildings most likely to fall through the gaps in official recovery plans.

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