[3] The latest eruptive activity began on 27 December 2020 with the slow extrusion of a dome of lava, and culminated in a series of explosive events between 9 and 22 April 2021.

[18][19] An eruption on April 13, 1979 caused no casualties as advance warning allowed thousands of local residents to evacuate to nearby beaches.

[23][24] Government officials began outreach efforts to residents in the area throughout December and January, in order to review evacuation plans in case volcanic activity at the volcano escalated.

[27] On 8 April 2021, after a sustained increase of volcanic and seismic activity over the preceding days, a red alert was declared and an evacuation order issued as an explosive phase of the eruption was deemed to be imminent.

[28][29] An explosive eruption occurred at 8:41 AM AST on April 9, 2021, with an ash plume reaching approximately 8,000 m (26,000 ft)[30] and drifting eastward towards the Atlantic Ocean.

[21] Subsequent explosive eruptions, created by multiple pulses of ash, were reported in the afternoon[31][33] and evening of 9 April, according to the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre.

[34] Residents were also faced with power outages and cut off water supplies, and the airspace over the island was closed due to the presence of smoke and thick plumes of volcanic ash.

[32] Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza announced via Twitter that his country would be sending humanitarian supplies and risk experts.