BRITAIN is preparing a total evacuation and rescue plan for a colony with an unstable, volatile future, where few people admit to any confidence in their long-term ability to stay.
Some of its 9,000 residents, mostly holders of British Dependent Territory Citizen passports, are fleeing to the mother country. Others may find themselves in a camp being prepared in the region.
In this case, the colony is the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, where the volcano Chances Peak has been rumbling for the past year.
Volcanologists estimate there is a 10 per cent chance of a major eruption and disaster.
Some are drawing parallels between the island colony and Hong Kong.
But more than mere hot air is flowing from this threat to stability. Huge amounts of ash spewed from the volcano are carried on the wind at speeds of up to 144 km/h, incinerating all in their path.
