Bank and the volcano
This story was relayed to one of our editors by a senior finance minister in the Caribbean. A while back, Monseratt suffered devastating eruptions from the volcano that formed the island. The island was covered in ash and rubble from the eruptions. Many of the island’s banks are located inland, away from the coast and the destructive power of hurricane-generated storm surges. Unfortunately, this put them closer to the ash and debris fall. One of the region’s most prestigious banks was completely covered. The bank’s officers were upset, but not worried about the vault and safety deposit boxes: As long as they were buried they were safe. After the volcano calmed down, experts were brought in to determine how best to access the vault and retrieve the safety deposit boxes and currency held in the vault. After much examination and decision making, the dig began. What they found astonished them: While they were using the most modern equipment to access the vault, locals using picks and shovels and had cleaned out all of the bank’s currency and every single safety deposit box. The locals gained access via a tunnel dug by hand.
