00:00:09Eastern Caribbean the island of
00:00:12Montserrat this tiny island is one of
00:00:16the last remaining outposts of the
00:00:17British Empire it measures just sixteen
00:00:20point five kilometers long by 10 wide
00:00:23almost the size of the city of Dublin
00:00:27it’s a haven for the rich and famous and
00:00:30home to err recording studios used by
00:00:33rock and pop stars the island is
00:00:37celebrated for its natural beauty and
00:00:39tranquil easygoing lifestyle 80% of the
00:00:44island’s infrastructure lies in the
00:00:47shadow of sue free air hills a mountain
00:00:49lying 915 metres above sea level that
00:00:53dominates the southern half of the
00:00:54island most of the population of ten and
00:00:57a half thousand live and work in the
00:00:59capital Plymouth or farm the rich
00:01:02fertile soil on the mountain slopes
00:01:04[Music]
00:01:07on the northern flank like the village
00:01:10of Farrell’s yard home – Delia pond it
00:01:15is a paradise and because everybody is
00:01:19so friendly towards one another we never
00:01:21have a cave in the world I guess we have
00:01:24brought up in a way to accept life for
00:01:29what it is Delia has lived in Montserrat
00:01:32her entire life and is a mother with six
00:01:35children she rents a small holding where
00:01:39she grows vegetables to sell on the
00:01:40neighboring islands David Lee is an
00:01:45American missionary who has lived on
00:01:47Montserrat for 15 years he’s also a keen
00:01:51amateur cameraman and has filmed
00:01:53everything from carnivals to local
00:01:56sporting events it’s off the beaten path
00:01:59it’s the way the Caribbean used to be
00:02:02the people are genuinely friendly and we
00:02:05came for a month and checked it out and
00:02:08it was just like they said and we never
00:02:11left but beneath this tropical Garden of
00:02:15Eden lies a hidden menace
00:02:18the lush vegetation and productive soil
00:02:21belies a lethal reality the island is
00:02:26volcanic Montserrat sits directly on a
00:02:32geological subduction zone this is one
00:02:36of the most seismically active parts of
00:02:38the planet’s crust
00:02:41the North Atlantic tectonic plate moving
00:02:44westward sinks beneath the Caribbean
00:02:46plate as it descends it melts forming
00:02:50magma which over millennia finds its way
00:02:52to the Earth’s surface creating a string
00:02:55of volcanic islands known as the Lesser
00:02:58Antilles
00:03:01but Montserrat has shown no signs of
00:03:04major volcanic activity for
00:03:06approximately 370 years the only
00:03:11evidence of Vulcan isset e-r Springs hot
00:03:14enough to boil an egg sprouting from the
00:03:16slopes of SU Freire Hills then on the
00:03:2318th of July 1995
00:03:26everything changes
00:03:29the Islanders hear a deafening noise
00:03:31similar to the sound of a jet engine
00:03:33coming from the mountain
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