The island was shaken by the explosions--the shocks could be distinctly felt.

All these phenomena were indicative of an imminent eruption, and there was no spot at the base of the mountain that could afford any protection from the rivers of lava that would inevitably pour down its smooth, steep slopes and overwhelm the village in their boiling flood.

Besides, the very mountain might be destroyed in the eruption.
There was nothing for the population exposed to such a dire catastrophe to do but leave.

This they did.

Their humble Lares and Penates, in fact all their belongings, were loaded into the fishing-smacks, and the entire colony sought refuge in Southhampton Harbor.
The news that a volcano, that had presumably been smouldering for centuries at the western extremity of the group, showed signs of breaking out again, caused a sensation throughout the Bermudas.