2. This is where we lived - on the beautiful tropical island of Montserrat in the Caribbean
3. The volcano was really warming up; every few minutes a new eruption sent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of ash, rocks, super heated gases and steam into the atmosphere. We just knew we had to get out before the big one struck!
4. As the air cleared we looked up at the volcano’s dome and saw how the lava plug had grown. Soon this would blow with the force of an atomic bomb - it really was time to go!
5. We remembered the devastation caused a few days ago when, without warning, ash, debris and gas hurtled down the mountain side at enormous speed. We knew that if we had been in the path of this pyroclastic flow we would have been obliterated by the intense heat - 600 C some say!
6. the sheer density of the ‘cloud’ bulldozed everything out of its way, crushing houses, destroying the farmland and knocking out communications.
7. And when the ‘cloud’ had settled the buildings that had not been destroyed were all but covered in ash and boulders. This was in our home town of Shooters Hill, on the right bank of the White River valley that channelled the pyroclastic flow
8. The next day we could see the path that the pyroclastic flow had taken - half the mountain had been blasted away and a new coastline had been created as the ash and debris rained back to earth
9. People had witnessed this devastating sight from nearby islands, thankful that they had been spared
10. And on the news the next day we saw just what the scale of the devastation that hit Shooters Hill was really like
11. The lava plug had gone and part of the mountain had collapsed
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15. Item Units Item Units Television 8 Battery radio 2 Bedding for all the family 8 Children’s school books 4 Small gardening tools 4 First aid kit 2 Grandma’s medicine 2 DIY tools 4 Kitchen clock 1 Trousers (each) 1 2-ring gas stove 3 Sleeping mats (each) 2 Skirts (each) 1 20L petrol in can 4 Family’s change of underwear 3 Dust pan and brush 2 cushion 1 Pack of cards ½ Electric kettle 2 Family photo album 2 Kitchen knife ½ Jumpers (each) 2 Floor rug 5 bucket 3 umbrella 2 Tins of food (5 tins) 2 toiletries 2 Box of fresh veg & fruit 4 Gas bottle for stove 4 Fold up chair 6 Cooking foil 1 Camp bed (each) 6 Small watering can 2 Shoes (per pair) 2 Swiss army knife 2 Battery powered torch 1 Batteries (pack of 6) 2 Cosmetics/make-up 2 Mobile phone 2 Cuddly toy 2
![Montserrat ,[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/montserrat-preparingtoleave-110221004838-phpapp01/85/Montserrat-preparing-to-leave-1-320.jpg)
