The danger was raised to red in the area around La Soufriere volcano in the north of the island.

I have issued evacuation orders for everyone living in the red regions of the northeast and northwest of the island, as Prime Minister Ralph Gonçalves has written about Twitter. In total, there are about 16,000 people. The message comes after scientists reported to authorities that they had discovered magma on its way to the surface.

Three cruise lines sent four ships to the area to evacuate the locals. The evacuated people will be transferred to other parts of the island country or neighboring countries such as Barbados and Saint Lucia, which have offered assistance.

La Soufriere glows red in the dark of the evening, and the warning of an impending eruption came after days of shifting seismic activity around the volcano. Scientists monitoring the volcano alerted authorities that they had discovered magma on its way to the surface. The country’s emergency services say there is a high risk of disaster.

The last eruption was in 1979. The largest volcanic eruption occurred in 1902, killing about 1,600 people.

Saint Vincent is the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and is located in the eastern Caribbean Sea, northern Venezuela. The country has a population of around 110,000 and is a popular destination, among other things, for long-distance sailors.