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Vanuatu Issues Mandatory Evacuation for Volcanic Island

by VOA News

   Vanuatu has ordered the compulsory evacuation of all the residents of
   the island of Ambae because of volcanic activity.

   The government renewed a state of emergency Friday for the island after
   a volcano eruption filled the sky with ash.

   Ambae's approximately 10,000 residents have received evacuation orders
   twice since September when the eruptions began.

   Lillian Garaw, an Ambae resident, told the Associated Press she has had
   difficulty sleeping because of the noise the volcano makes. She said
   the ash has aggravated asthma in some young children.

   Thousands of residents on Ambae were forced to leave their homes when
   Manaro last erupted in 2005.

   Vanuatu, home to just 280,000 people scattered across 80 islands, is
   located on the Pacific's so-called Ring of Fire, a seismically active
   line of faults where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.