Authorities in Vanuatu are considering another mass evacuation on the island of Ambae, as the eruption from the volcano at the island's centre intensifies again.
Thousands of islanders were moved when the volcano erupted on Ambae, Vanuatu. Photo: RNZ / Koroi Hawkins
The geohazards department had raised the island's alert level last week, with the volcano again belching ash and acid rain across parts of Ambae.
The islands 13,000 residents only returned at the end of last year, after the entire population was moved off island when the eruption first intensified.
The director general of Climate Change and Natural Disaster, Jesse Benjamin, said the relocation of some 1,000 households in the western and southern parts of Ambae was being considered.
Mr Benjamin told the Daily Post that a document carrying a disaster declaration is being prepared for the Council of Ministers.