Plymouth, Montserrat mud and lava would have been scorched and left completely non-arable by the heat of the pyroclastic flows. Plymouth was abandoned and the entire southern half of the island was declared an exclusion zone because of the continuing volcanic activity at the Soufrière Hills. The government of the island was moved to Brades, although Plymouth remains the "de jure" capital. , a new port and capital are under construction at Little Bay, on the island's northwest coast. The destruction of Plymouth caused severe economic problems for the island of Montserrat. Plymouth had been by far the largest settlement on the
Basse-Terre Island 16 communes (municipalities). The population density was . The largest city on Basse-Terre Island is the city of Basse-Terre which had 37,455 inhabitants in its urban area at the 2006 census. The city of Basse-Terre is the prefecture (capital) of Guadeloupe. Despite its name, Basse-Terre Island (literally "Low Land" Island, "Down Land" Island) is the highest island of Guadeloupe, rising to above sea level at the Soufrière volcano. The name of the island is the result of French terminology used in the Caribbean in the 17th century. In the Caribbean, the prevailing winds blow from the northeast (see trade wind),