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Evacuations Ordered As Vanuatu Volcano Emits Clouds Of Ash

by Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY --

   An erupting volcano is expected to force the population of an entire
   island in Vanuatu to leave for the second time in less than a year.
   Volcanic activity has intensified in the past week, prompting the
   government of the South Pacific archipelago to declare a state of
   emergency.

   Ash clouds have turned day into night on the island of Ambae, leading
   authorities in Vanuatu to order the evacuation of 11,000 people. The
   Manaro volcano has been active for almost a year, and after a period of
   relative calm, it is beginning to stir again.
   The director of Vanuatu's Geohazards Department is Esline Garaebiti.

   "We're seeing very significant impacts on the island at the moment,"
   said Garaebiti. "For that latest eruption, there's been heavy ash fall
   in the southern parts, while parts of the north were also affected."
   Grey ash has blanketed homes and crops, and emergency officials in
   Vanuatu are expecting the seismic activity to intensify.
   Residents fled Ambae en masse last September, when the volcano began
   emitting clouds of smoke, and there were signs of hot lava emerging
   near the surface of its crater. Many have heeded the warning to leave
   once again. Others, though, say they don't want to go, fearing
   overcrowding and a lack of services on neighboring islands.
   But Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat says it could soon become
   too dangerous to stay.
   "At this stage it's very clear that the situation will only get worse
   in the days to come, and so it's important for the people to move out
   of the island. And we will be asking their co-operation to co-operate
   with us so that we can get them to safety," said Napuat.
   Ambae is one of about 65 inhabited islands in Vanuatu, which lies in
   the Pacific Ocean about one-quarter of the way from Australia to
   Hawaii.
   The island nation is home to about 280,000 people. It is on the
   Pacific's "ring of fire", the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific
   Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.