View in eastern direction. Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, was permanently evacuated in 1996 after the nearby Soufrière Hills Volcano (background of the image) had reactivated. Later on the ghost town was struck by pyroclastic flows, and its centre was almost completely buried by material relocated from the upper slopes through lahars. The suburb of Town Hill can still be seen in the right centre of the photo. It remains an exclusion zone, as does the entire southern portion of the island.