Montserrat is one of the Leeward Islands chain in the eastern Caribbean. It has been devastated by volcanic eruptions which began in 1995 and culminated in massive explosions of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1997 and 1998. As a result, the southern two-thirds of the island, where Plymouth and Blackburne airport are located, have become uninhabitable and it is illegal to enter the volcano "exclusion zone." Over half of the 10,000 population left permanently for neighboring islands or the UK. Calls for independence, based on a tourist boom in the 1980s, have been largely dropped, as the island is now dependent on UK aid. However, the disaster soured relations, setting off a bitter dispute over the cost of resettlement and reconstruction. A new capital, tentatively named Port Diana, is planned for the "safe" northern coast. The tourism industry is struggling to rebuild itself, but is hindered by the closure of both the airport and seaport by the eruption. Montserrat can now only be reached via neighboring Antigua.