Entire Island Evacuated As Volcano Set To Erupt ‘Any Minute’

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An erupting volcano has caused officials to order the evacuation of an entire island.

All 11,000 residents of Ambae have been told they must leave the island to be relocated other islands in the Pacific state, according to the BBC.

The rumbling Manaro Voui volcano began spewing ash in a ‘moderate eruption’ at the weekend and 6,000 residents had been moved to shelters on the island earlier this week.

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But now, a full-scale evacuation has been ordered with all residents expected to have been moved off the island by next Friday.

The BBC reports a ‘second highest level’ alert was raised on Saturday, meaning the volcano was in a ‘moderate eruption state’. A warning of ‘flying rocks and volcanic gas’ was issued as well as a risk of acid rain and falling ash.

Smoke clouds and signs of hot lava emerging to the surface in its crater have been seen over the past couple of days.

Just yesterday, a deadly volcano in Indonesia erupted, spewing massive plumes of ash into the air.

Thousands of villagers who live around Mount Sinabung in northern Sumatra were evacuated on Wednesday afternoon as the dangerous volcano erupted at 1.23pm local time.

More than 75,000 residents were warned to stay at least 7km away from the volcano to avoid the ash that was thrown 2.5km into the air.

Mount Sinabung was the most active of the country’s 130 volcanoes and there are now fears a bigger eruption could happen within hours as Mount Agung on Bali is expected to blow.

Mount Agung is only 3,000km away and is currently on the highest alert level.

Both volcanoes are located in the ‘Ring of Fire’, a volatile area of seismic activity filled with hundreds of active volcanoes where 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes happen.

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Authorities said they fear lava flows from Mount Sinabung could run down the mountain into villages destroying homes.

This is something that has happened several times before as the volcano explodes frequently. Earlier this year 10 people were killed in another eruption leaving the death toll sitting at 20 in the past decade.

Last Thursday, a massive earthquake struck under the sea off the coast of Bali, measuring at a depth of 588km, which sparked fears of a tsunami and an eruption from the nearby volcano Mount Agung.

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Bali is a favourite holiday destination for Australians and for backpackers alike, with thousands visiting every year.

Unfortunately the earthquake was the second in the space of 48 hours in the ‘Ring of Fire’.

Tremors could be felt across the Kiwi islands as New Zealand was rocked first by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake which struck south-west of Invercargill, followed by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake which hit north-east of Seddon, according to USGS.

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The day before, separate earthquakes hit New Zealand and Mexico causing untold damage and claiming more than 240 lives.

Although an official tsunami warning hasn’t been issued, locals living near Mount Agung have been evacuating their homes following increased seismic activity in the area.

Stay safe, everyone.

UNILAD