AUTHORITIES have declared a state of emergency and ordered approximately 7000 people to evacuate as a potentially deadly volcano rumbles to life.
A VOLCANO has forced about 7000 people from their homes on Vanuatu’s Ambae island as stones, ash and lava spew from the crater.
The Pacific nation’s government has declared a state of emergency, and approved a $2 million fund to provide water, food and shelter as widespread evacuations are ordered amid fears of a major eruption.
The Associated Press reports about 10,000 people live on the island, and villagers close to the volcano have been moved to schools and community halls on the island’s less vulnerable eastern and western regions.
At least 35 evacuation centres have been set up around the country.
The Monaro volcano last erupted in 2005, but a recent increase in activity has prompted authorities to raise the alert to its second-highest level.
An aerial photograph from the New Zealand Defence Force shows smoke coming from the crater.Source:AFP
Vanuatu’s Meteorology and Geohazards Department warned villagers within 6.5 kilometres of the crater face the biggest risk from airborne rocks and volcanic gas.
However, it said that acid rain could damage crops across a broader area.
Displaced villagers are now trapped in a waiting game.
“People on Ambae rely on a subsistence lifestyle and so the big fear is not just the issue of displacement but the condition of crops and vegetation that people will go home to,” Georgia Tacey, Save the Children’s Vanuatu country director, told Al Jazeera.
Shadrack Welegtabit, the director of Vanuatu’s National Disaster Management Office, said a ship had arrived Wednesday carrying food, water and other essential supplies.
He said a second ship was due to arrive Friday.
New Zealand Defence Force flew over the volcano on Tuesday, and said they noticed huge columns of smoke billowing from the crater.
Ambae island is about 2000km from Brisbane. Picture: Google MapsSource:Supplied
Vanuatu is about one-quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii.
It’s made up of 80 islands, about 65 of which are inhabited, and is home to around 280,000 people.
The nation is considered one of the world’s most prone to natural disasters, with a half-dozen active volcanoes as well as regular cyclones and earthquakes.
It sits on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.
— with AP
kirrily.schwarz@news.com.au
