clipped from: www.kentucky.com OLVESTON, Montserrat - Montserrat's Soufriere Hills volcano blasted ash and steam into the air on Thursday, and authorities warned the Caribbean island could see heightened activity in coming days.
The eruption did not affect the northern side of the island, where all of Montserrat's 5,000 residents live, but the Montserrat Volcano Observatory raised the alert status.
"The volcano is extremely active," observatory director Sue Loughlin.
"It's really the uncertainty that causes us to put the alert level up," Loughlin said. "We expect something to happen but we don't know exactly what it might be."